


My Best Friend's Daughter

by michaela321



Category: The Vampire Diaries (TV)
Genre: Age Difference, Alternate Universe - Human, Angst, F/M, Family Drama, Friendship, Love, Romance
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-03-27
Updated: 2018-07-03
Packaged: 2018-10-11 15:00:28
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 8
Words: 58,553
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10467720
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/michaela321/pseuds/michaela321
Summary: When New York's famous bachelor and businessman Damon Salvatore is forced to move back to his hometown, he gets severely surprised how much his best friend had changed over the years. But, what completely shocks him, is how much has his best friend's family changed, especially his now 18-year-old stepdaughter. Will he be able to resist the temptation?  AU/Bamon





	1. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1 - Guess who's all grown up?**

 

Life can be a fickle thing. It can turn on you in an instant. Everything you have you can lose in a blink of an eye. Damon Salvatore learned that the hard way. One day he had everything he could possibly want. A great job, loads of money and women, the latest Aston Martin parked in a garage, an exclusive 3 bedroom condo in one of the most expensive buildings in New York. He couldn't wish for more.

And right now, he was watching the IRS guys loading a truck with his famous Paul Cezanne paintings, the sculpture of 'Reaching for love', along with a custom made Chez M'Lain bed and all of his other possessions.

Yep, there goes the replica of the Faberge's lost Nécessaire Egg. He had that made specifically for the study room because he thought it brought more elegance and style to his bachelor pad.

Guess that's what happens when you get yourself involved in a dangerous game of tax avoidance and money laundering with your boss. Even though they had no evidence he was indeed involved, the state closed the firm, incarcerated his boss, and took everything he owned under their safe keeping, until the trial was over.

At least, he wasn't in jail. Yet.

So, now by the orders of his lawyer, he had to leave his apartment. He did, however, got a legal permission to leave the state of New York, and head out to his hometown in Virginia, until, the trail picks up again in September.

_Bang!_

His jaw twitched when he saw two buff guys drop the big L-shaped couch, that was, of course, custom made, too. One single item from his apartment cost more than those guys made in a year, and they were treating it like it was something scooped up in the nearest garbage disposal.

He had enough of this. He picked up his suitcase and jacket and left the apartment with a bitter taste in his mouth.

It was time to go home.

* * *

And his home was none other than Mystic Falls, Virginia. A small town where everybody knew everyone and other people's business better than their own. He was probably going to be the latest subject of the small town gossip.

But, who the hell cares. At least he knew he could count on one person.

That one person was Alaric Saltzman. His best friend since diapers. Their mothers were friends, so it was only natural they were, too. When they were younger, Damon and Ric were inseparable. They did everything together.

True, Damon was always the one with the craziest ideas, and even though Ric would protest against every each one, he would always be right beside his best friend. They were the dynamic duo.

However, a lot have changed when they started college. They were both attending Whitmore, but Damon took the student exchange program and spent a year in Rome, Italy. When he came back, he never expected for things to change so much.

Alaric met a girl. And not just any girl. She was _the girl_. The one.

Of course, as much as a shock was that Ric has decided to be a one woman's man, an even bigger shock was the fact that the girl wasn't exactly _a girl_. She was a woman. An older woman. Her 34 years didn't exactly make her an old lady, but for a then 19-year-old Damon and Ric, that was surprisingly older.

Abby Bennett was at that time, the head Professor of Sociology at Whitmore, so their relationship was kept secret. Damon always thought it wasn't gonna last, that it was more about the forbidden fruit version. They got off on the fact, she was a teacher and he was a student. But, things got even more ridiculous when Ric proposed to her on their three year's anniversary. He happily announced he was gonna marry the woman and start a proper family life with her, once he finished college.

And as much as Damon tried to change his best friend's decision and knock some sense into him, come mid-July 2006, he was sitting at Alaric and Abby's summer wedding. Sipping warm champagne and thinking which one of the bridesmaids he was going to seduce and take home.

But, one particular bridesmaid picked his interest more than the rest and it was in a completely different way. Abby's 8-year-old daughter Bonnie. One of the two kids his best friend accepted to raise with his new wife. She was sitting at one of the tables in her blue dress with ribbons in her hair, munching on cupcakes.

Ric was going to be a DAD to that girl. Well, stepdad, but still. How the hell could he agree to something like that in his best young years, was what Damon kept asking himself?

The flashback in his mind was cut off by the pilot's speech, informing the passengers they were landing in Richmond, Virginia. He was home.

* * *

„...and then three days after she threw her husband out, her boyfriend appeared in town, from that trip she took to Miami, a couple of months ago." Ric laughed and shook his head, while he was reminiscing last year's biggest fiasco at their neighborhood.

„Well, the Fell's were always the best providers of new gossip in Mystic Falls." Damon said flatly, not really interested in the stories his buddy was telling him. When did he become a desperate housewife whose biggest peek of the week was, who was fertilizing their roses with natural compost?

„So, how are you?" his best friend changed the topic, seeing his disinterest in everything he was saying. Guess, the question 'What'd I miss?' was a rhetorical one.

„I'm great, man," Damon said with false happiness. „Couldn't be better."

The man behind the wheel snorted, as they passed the 'Welcome to Mystic Falls' sign. He knew all about Damon's situation and he had no doubt he was indeed involved in all his company was being charged for. He knew him too well.

Damon was power hungry for money and glory. He never had very high moral standards and usually, everybody in his proximity got screwed up. However, Ric knew his best friend, and that the reason for that, was probably his messed up parents and screwed up childhood.

Deep down, Damon was a good guy and he would never intentionally hurt the people he loved. There was a small circle of people Damon was completely loyal to, and Ric was lucky to be one of them.

No matter what his friend has done, he will always be the same guy who took the beating for him in the seventh grade. And the guy who came from New York at 4 o'clock in the morning when he and Abby were having serious problems and were on the verge of divorce. He knew he could always rely on him, no matter what other people said.

„The house looks different." Damon commented, as he got out of the car and closed the door on Ric's minivan.

„Yeah, we changed the frontispiece last spring," Ric said while he was getting Damon's suitcase from the trunk. „Abby wanted it to be Winter Orchard white, instead of White Paper."

Damon snorted and laughed.

„Is she home? I bought her something as a thank you for letting me stay at your place for a while."

„No, she's still at the University. She's probably gonna be very late, so you're gonna see her tomorrow." He said as he opened the door of his picture-perfect suburban house. He dropped the suitcase right next to the door and guided Damon to the kitchen.

„Right, I forgot she's the big hot shot lady of the faculty. Did she made the dean already?"

„Not exactly. But she is his substitute, so after he leaves for retirement next year, fingers crossed."

„Nice." Damon said impressed and watched with a frown, as his best friend put on an apron and opened the fridge in look for the ingredients so he could make dinner. He took a soda from the fridge and without a word passed it to Damon.

„Marcel!" he yelled as he stepped into the doorway of the kitchen and looked in the direction of the upstairs floor. „Get your ass down here! Marcel!"

Damon could hear the tumbling on the stairs as the boy made his way downstairs. He expected the 14-year-old boy with frizzy brown hair and glasses on his eyes but got stone stilled at the sight in front of him. A buffed up man with chocolate skin and very short hair with pearl white teeth stood in front of him.

So, maybe he made a mistake, buying an RC Helicopter for the boy. He hadn't really thought about the fact that 10 years have passed since he last saw Ric's family. Yes, he saw photos Ric sent him, but never really paid any attention to them. He would always just say he has a nice family, without even taking a real look at the pictures.

And when he saw Ric, it was usually just for some male bonding time, which to be honest was becoming rarer with more passing years. He saw Abby on occasions, too, but they would always be without the kids.

„What's up?" a strong manly voice came out of the young man's mouth and it only surprised Damon more.

„Hey, Damon Salvatore!" he said with a wide smile on his face, extending a hand to him.

„Marcel? What the hell?" Damon couldn't stop himself from commenting, as he accepted the hand and shook it „Last I saw you, you were losing a battle against pimples and starting to grow hair in weird places."

The young handsome boy nodded and laughed, rubbing his five o'clock shadow, „Yeah, well, I guess it's safe to say I managed to grow a bit more hair since then."

„That you did." Damon laughed too, noticing the fact, the boy was proudly standing in front of him, completely aware of his looks.

„You need any help?" the young man turned to Ric, who was cutting the vegetables into even pieces.

„No, it's fine. I just wanted you to come down and say hi."

Marcel nodded and took a piece of carrot to pop it in his mouth.

„So, Mr. Salvatore, how long are you staying?"

Mr. Salvatore. That sounded so old. Marcel was just a couple of years younger than him and he was addressing him like he was an old man.

„Please, don't ever call me that. Mr. Salvatore was my father and I am nowhere near like that guy." He said it as a joke. „Call me Damon."

„Alright. Sorry, Damon." Marcel smiled.

„For now, it's indefinite. I'm not really sure for how long I'll be here."

„Marcel, could you show Damon your room where he'll be staying?" Ric intervened.

„Sure."

„Oh, hey, Ric, wait." Damon said frowning, „I don't want to kick your boy out of his room. I thought you said you have a spare bedroom. But, I don't want to accommodate you all. I'll just go stay in a hotel."

„Are you kidding me?" Ric laughed. „You think I'm letting you stay in a hotel? Don't be crazy, man."

„No, Ric, really..."

„It's fine. Marcel is gonna sleep at the downstairs study for tonight, and for the rest, he's not even staying at the house. He just on leave for now. He comes home for weekends sometimes, the rest he spends at the Academy."

„Academy?" that picked Damon's interest.

„Yeah, Police academy. Marcel's gonna be an officer of the law in a couple of months." Ric said with a proud smile.

„Wow. Really?" he asked surprised, to which the young man nodded. „Well, that is impressive. Good for you."

„Yeah, thank you. Com' on. I'll show you your room." He said as he started to leave the kitchen, but Ric stopped him with his words.

„Hey, Marcel, call your sister and tell her to be home by 7 p.m. We got a guest at dinner, I don't want her to be late."

„Sure thing."

* * *

Marcel was really a big pleasant surprise for Damon. He accompanied him, while they were waiting for dinner, and he managed to get to know the young man a little better. Marcel was 24 years old now, on his way to being a police officer and a very polite and nice young man.

He didn't have a girlfriend, but that didn't mean he didn't have any luck in that department. Ladies loved him. And Damon was quite sure in that without even asking.

He showed him around the house and Damon was pleased how Marcel had no problem with communicating with him. He was very opened and funny, which reminded Damon of a young Alaric.

True, Abby and Ric had no mutual kids, as Ric informed him that Abby had a problem after she gave birth to her daughter and couldn't have any more kids. But, that didn't stop Ric to fully commit to the role of being a dad to Abby's two existing kids.

It was very obvious, Marcel loved his stepfather and it was a nice surprise since he remembered that on the wedding day, he was not very pleased. Yes, he was in puberty, so that was probably the reason for it, but the guy Marcel have grown up in, Damon noticed that Ric had a lot of influence on.

Which, to be completely honest, to Damon, that was great because Ric was one of the best people he had known in his life. He was his best friend for a very long time, and Damon was fully aware, that he was at times very hard to handle.

It was 6:55 p.m. when they heard a car getting in the driveway, and Marcel told Damon they should move to the kitchen.

Alaric had already prepared the dinner and served the table when they entered the cooking room.

They heard the front door opening, closing, and voice that called out to the kitchen.

_„Hey, I'm home!"_

„Bonnie?" Ric called her while dusting his hands over a dishtowel that was hanging over his shoulder.

_„I'll be right there. I'm gonna go wash up for dinner!"_

„Bonnie, come here for a second."

Now, Damon got super surprised by Marcel and how the boy grew up, so he already mentally prepared himself that Bonnie was no longer the size of an 8-year-old. Plus, Marcel told him she just turned 18, a couple of days ago, which was actually the reason he was still in town, even though it was Tuesday.

But, he was definitely not prepared for what walked in into the kitchen. His eyes almost fell out of his sockets and his jaw almost hit the floor.

A beautiful, young woman was standing at the entrance of the kitchen. Vibrant green eyes under thick long lashes, with full lips in nude color lip gloss. Clear sun-kissed skin that looked so delicate and silky, it makes you want to touch it nonstop.

_Okay, stopping now. Close your mouth and wipe out the drool, Damon._

Yep, he was affected, he couldn't deny that. Affected by her wavy shoulder-length dark hair, that looked so soft, he wanted to mess it up with his hands and affected by her petite feminine curves. Dressed in a pink sleeveless shirt and dark skinny jeans, with black heeled ankle boots and a leather jacket in her hands. A sparkled smile that lighted up the room instantly and the scent of the sweet perfume wafting from her direction.

„Hey, baby girl!" Ric said with such joy it almost instantly shook Damon up.

_Baby girl. Yes, she was Ric's baby girl. Definitely stopping now._

„Hey." She said, stepping carefully further in the kitchen when she noticed an unfamiliar man standing by her stepdad.

„You remember Damon Salvatore?" Ric gestured to him. „My old friend since...what forever?" he said looking at Damon and snorting in a humorous way.

„Pfff...something like that." Damon said awkwardly. It reminded him how much history he and Ric shared and how he had no business casting dirty looks to the girl Ric called his baby girl.

„Not really." She said with a tight smile looking strangely at the man.

„Yeah, well you were 8 years old when you last saw him." Ric said dismissing it with his hand.

„Damon, you remember that little girl with pigtails and ribbons in her hair? Could you believe this young lady is that same little Bonnie Bennett - Saltzman?"

He shook her hand which he noticed was very soft and tiny, and he sinfully imagined that palm wrapped around something else... something firmer, harder... - but dropped it instantly when Ric's words sunk in.

Bennett – Saltzman.

She even had his last name.

"Ha!" he yelped, his eyes widened, trying to look anywhere else, except in her direction. He turned around quickly, looking down at the kitchen tiles.

_Get it together, man._

„Okay..." he heard the girl say, "I'm gonna go get myself ready for dinner," Bonnie announced as she went out of the kitchen.

It was easier for Damon to breathe, once she left the room.

What the hell just happened?

He was sure he seemed like a crazy man to the girl, but maybe that was even better. It would probably reduce their contact to a minimum, which was necessary until he got himself under control. It was hard to explain what exactly came over him when Bonnie came in. He was simply struck by how beautiful she was.

He had experience with women, that was not the problem. But, he was after all, only human. When a pretty lady enters his periphery, he turns into a predator. He observes, estimates and when he thinks he has enough, he attacks. And here, he had to turn off that part of his brain, because, even though she was gorgeous, she was absolutely off limits.

None of the two other men noticed his slightly weird behavior, cause they were too busy with finishing up dinner. Okay, so, maybe he was a better actor than he thought.

_Yeah, I'm gonna be just fine._

He told to himself, not really certain at those words.

* * *

Ric was beaming with pride while he talked about his kids. He was absolutely proud of everything Marcel and Bonnie did because it seemed they really were perfect kids.

Marcel had an impressive resume, but Damon learned quickly Bonnie was the real shiny star of the family. She was a senior in high school, straight A student, co-captain of the cheerleading squad and she even volunteered at the Senior Center in Richmond, Virginia. Not to mention, she was in the Organization Committee, helping the mayor's office with every single event this town had in preparation. And, there was always something going on in Mystic Falls.

„...so now, she has a scholarship waiting for her at the Whitmore Universtiy." Ric concluded.

„Well, it's still not for sure, yet, Ric." Bonnie said playing with her food on the plate.

„Oh, please. It's practically done. She's just waiting for the papers to come, but Abby already asked out and she's definitely in."

There was no doubt in Ric's eyes. He was 100% sure of what he was saying and he was smiling like a Cheshire cat. But, as Damon diverted his eyes on the girl, he noticed something. There was something in her look. She didn't seem as happy as Ric was about this. She was smiling, but it just didn't reach her eyes. It was almost like it wasn't her dream come true, as her stepfather said.

„So, you got a boyfriend, Bonnie?" Damon asked.

She smiled shyly as she looked across the table at him, but before she could answer the man on Damon's right beat her to it.

„Of course, not. She has no free time for that. Plus, she's too young to be hanging around boys."

„I do hang out with boys, Ric." She said with an offended face.

„Yeah, but those are harmless. They don't see you that way."

_Obviously, they're not looking very clearly._

And, right at the second, as his dirty mind made an appearance again, Bonnie raised her eyes to him. It was like she knew what he was thinking. Those pretty olive eyes were staring at him without blinking and he was enjoying it just a little too much. His eyes trailed over her face and he found himself slightly raising one side of his mouth, sending her a sympathetic smile.

„Okay. Who's on dish duty today?" Ric interrupted his thoughts, obliviously looking between Marcel and Bonnie.

„Not me."

„I'm not."

Both spoke at the same time, to which Ric snorted.

„I did the dishes yesterday." Marcel said.

„I did them last week every day." Bonnie contoured him, turning her eyes to the guy on her right.

„I wasn't even here last week."

„Okay. Enough you two. Marcel, you're on dish duty." Ric concluded.

The young man rolled his eyes, while the girl flashed a mocking victory smile to her brother.

* * *

The living room was a complete dedication to the accomplishments of Marcel and Bonnie. There were medals and trophies all over the wall, that were on full display for everybody to see when they came into the house.

It was obvious, how proud Ric and Abby were of their family. And, Damon would never say it was a bad thing, but that maybe they overdid it? Yes, he would say that. It was great they had something to be proud of, but it wasn't necessary to flaunt it around like they were God's gifts or something.

„1989. Ric saves it for special occasions. Guess this is one of them." Bonnie said, entering the living room, with a bottle of an expensive bourbon in her hand. Ric assigned her to purchase the special drink from the basement, in honor fo his best friend's visit. She placed it on the table behind the couch and walked over to a showcase to get the glasses out.

Damon stood on the other side of the room, waiting for Ric to join him, as he was busy helping Marcel clean up the kitchen. He silently observed her, with hands in his pockets. She was quite short, he noticed, which wasn't surprising, because Damon remembered Abby wasn't that much taller either. She had similar hair like her mother too. It was the same color, falling down in perfect curls. His eyes followed the line of her spine, and when she bent down to get the glasses, he cleared his throat awkwardly when his eyes accidentally fell directly on her perfectly round ass.

„So, I heard you turned 18 couple of days ago." He said conversationally, trying to get his mind out of the gutter. „How's it feel to be stepping in the adult's world?"

„I don't really see any difference." She answered politely.

„Yeah, I know what you mean. I still feel like a minor sometimes. And more often I act like one, too."

She laughed shortly, closing the showcase, walking over to the table and placing two crystal glasses next to the bourbon. „It's dumb. I never really gave much attention to how old somebody is. A year is just a number. Doesn't mean anything."

„Sometimes it does." He said quietly, swinging his head, as he stepped closer to the table where she was standing at.

„Well, considering my stepdad is 15 years younger than my mom, and 14 years older than me, I think it's safer I don't think about age differences." She said smiling mischievously.

„Aaaa, but that's love." He joked. „You can't have numbers there."

She raised her eyes curiously to him and her smile spread when he smirked playfully at her. She bit her lip, as she diverted her look away, her hands grabbing the bottle and humming quietly. She seemed to be in a deep thought, observing the patterns on the couch in front of her.

Damon took that time to observe her closely. She had such a pretty face. Bright eyes, clear skin and the prettiest lips he had ever seen. They seemed like soft cushions that were just calling you to rest on them forever. A sweet lavender scent was wafting from her hair, mixed with a fruity perfume she was wearing.

She was an absolute beauty, and she seemed completely oblivious to it.

„You and Ric went to college together, right?" She asked him, all of the sudden, her eyes still set straight ahead of her.

„Yeah." He answered, still letting his eyes wander over her.

„So, you two are the same age?"

„Yup." he said happily, smiling lightly. But then... he paused for a moment. He noticed her voice getting a tone deeper and more silent, as she spoke those words. A frown appeared on his face, as he tilted his head to the side and looked at her seriously. „Why do you ask?"

Her green shiny eyes turned back to him, her hands letting go of the bottle and a hint of a smile dancing on her pouty lips. „No reason." She said it in a whisper, slowly letting the syllables fall of her tongue in a very delicious way.

„The dishes are done. Finally." Ric cut the moment short before Damon could question it further more. „Aaa, look at that beauty. Really calls on you to it." The man said, stepping between Bonnie and Damon, taking the bottle in his hands, and smiling widely at Damon, who just nodded, lost in words.

„Bonnie, Marcel is going to the Grill with some friends. If you want, you can go with him." Her stepfather told her, as she tightly smiled and turned to leave.

„Okay. Thanks."

„Yeah, Damon and I got some catching up to do." Ric started to open the bourbon with a wide smile on his face, ignoring everything around him. Damon turned around to look at the girl that was leaving the room, but she stopped at the doorway and smiled at him.

„Okay. Have fun." she wished them and left.

* * *

„So, did you tell anybody about my situation? You know, why I'm back and all?" Damon asked Ric, about an hour later, as they were sitting in the backyard, drinking and talking.

It was a quiet night, and for Damon, it was surprising, as he was used to the big city rush and traffic. He forgot how it was to live in a small town, where the day ends up as soon as the sun falls down.

„No, of course not. I mean, I just told Abby, and I told my kids you're staying here because you got some business in town. But, nobody else. Why?" Ric said, after taking a sip from his glass.

„Well, I guess I just wanted to get ready for the gossip to start."

„Oh, common, Damon. Nobody's gonna know." his best friend dismissed it.

„It was on the news, Ric."

„Yeah, in New York. Not here. Nobody saw it."

„Ah, please, one person sees it and the whole damn town finds out. It was always like that."

"And you care about that?"

He paused for a moment. Did he care, really? Most of the people in Mystic Falls never had anything good to say about him, so it shouldn't surprise him if they just continued with it again. Even if, nobody in town knew about what happened with his firm, he was sure, they would find something to badmouth his return home.

"No, of course not." he answered.

„So, are they gonna charge you?"

„Well, for now, I'm just a witness. I gotta testify for my boss, but before that, they need to make an assessment on me, see if I'm trustworthy and mentally healthy. They might also want to talk to people close to me about that. You know, for character judgment. They might call you." he mentioned it like it wasn't a big deal.

Naturally, Ric knew it was a silent plea to accept the questioning. If there was anybody who knew how to talk up about Damon, it was the man next to him.

„Okay. You know I'll say only the good stuff."

„Thanks, man." he clinked his glass against Ric's.

„What about your brother?"

„I'm not sure they're gonna reach him. He's traveling across the Europe with his blond London chick." he laughed, thinking about his younger brother and his Euro trip that started almost 4 years ago, where he was still in a process of _'finding himself'._

„Sounds fun." Ric snorted.

„Yeah."

* * *

It seemed surreal to Damon that he was back in Mystic Falls. Just five days ago he was lying in his king size bed in Manhattan, oblivious to the world around him, without a worry on his mind. And now he was trying to rest on a bumpy mattress in a small bed that belonged to Alaric's stepson.

A lot has changed in the last 10 years since he decided to move permanently away from his hometown. His best friend has changed. Again. He was practically a housewife now. He worked as a history teacher in the high school, but that was just for a couple of hours a week, so the rest he spent at home, raising the kids.

Abby was working an important job and developing her career, which was impressive, but her husband was stuck at home. To Damon, that seemed demeaning for a guy. Yes, the man looked happy and satisfied, but all his accomplishments in life were the accomplishments of Marcel and Bonnie, who weren't even his real kids.

He raised them well, Damon wasn't downplaying that, but maybe he was just settling with it. Living your life through your kids wasn't always the best way.

He raised himself from the bed, feeling a little frustrated that sleep wasn't coming so easy to him. Probably the damn jet leg. Usually, at home, he slept in the nude, but here it didn't seem appropriate, so he decided to wear simple black pajama pants.

He was feeling thirsty, but most of all nervous, so he left the room and went downstairs to the kitchen to get a glass of water. The whole family was asleep. He heard Abby come home around midnight, and Marcel and Bonnie got back a few minutes after her.

He read the clock that was blinking on the oven. It read 02:44 a.m. He poured himself a large glass of cold water and sipped it slowly as he crossed the downstairs floor. He stopped at the photographs that were hanging on the wall in the hallway.

There was a photo from the wedding day of Ric and Abby.

There were random photos of Abby's kids through the years, as well as some family portraits.

They were one of those family's that send Christmas cards with the photo of the entire family. Damon has received one every year. He just never paid any attention to them. He was more of a text and email kind of guy.

But, one particular photograph picked his interest. He stood a little closer to get a better look. It was Ric and Bonnie. They were on a beach in their swimsuits, with sunglasses on their eyes. He was giving her a piggyback ride and they had wide goofy smiles on.

It seemed that the photo was taken not that long ago, maybe last summer or something like that. The only difference between then and now was that Bonnie had longer hair, that reached all the way to her waist.

He always thought Alaric was crazy for diving so young in all that marriage and family life. He always thought his friend was gonna regret the decision and give up on it. But, here they were, 10 years later, Ric and Abby still going strong, and with children, they were absolutely proud of.

They really seemed as a picture perfect family, and Marcel and Bonnie were doing everything the way their parents wanted them to. It was obvious they loved Ric and respected the hell out of him, despite the fact he was not their biological father. And especially despite the age difference between him and Abby.

They were a spotless family.

That's exactly what bugged Damon. They were too perfect. Something about their absolute happiness was strange. There had to be stain somewhere in those four walls of the perfect suburban house.

He drank the whole water in his glass and left it in the kitchen. It was probably time for him to go and try to find some sleep. As he walked up the stairs and came into the upstairs hallway, running his hand through his hair, he dragged his feet quietly over the floor. Just as he put his hand on the doorknob of his room, he heard the sound of the door clicking behind him.

He turned around to see where did it come from, but everything was absolutely still and quiet. He heard no more movements from the rooms. He frowned, ascribing it to his tiredness and lack of sleep, and entered his room. He dropped on the bed, closed his eyes and drifted to sleep until morning.


	2. False pretenses

Damon's first morning in the Bennett-Saltzman's house was quite a show. He stood in the kitchen, his back leaned against the sink, sipping his coffee from a purple mug, observing the family members getting in, one by one, each of them involved in their own world.

First came in Marcel, with a travel bag on his shoulder, dressed in a white t-shirt and beige pants, with brown boots on his feet. He poured himself some coffee that Damon made since he was the first one up and thought it would be appropriate to prepare it for the family.

Marcel sipped the coffee in a fast motion, burning his tongue in the process, but still thanked the blue-eyed man on his gesture.

Just as he heard a honk from the outside and said his goodbye to Damon till next weekend, Alaric entered and hugged the boy on his way out.

His best friend smiled satisfied when he saw the coffee, and without a thought, grabbed another mug from the kitchen cabinet. He and Damon chatted a little while trying to wake up properly.

„Good morning!" A beautiful women with thick, long wavy hair entered the kitchen.

„Damon!"

Damon smiled widely at her, setting his mug on the side and walking over to the women to pull her in a tight friendly hug.

„Abby!" he smiled, while his face was buried in her hair, the smell of toffee and vanilla, reminding him of good old times, when he, Ric and Abby use to hang out. They were all good friends and despite the age difference, Abby had a great sense of humor and was a very pleasant company.

„Oh, my! You haven't changed a bit!" she said as they pulled out of the hug and she pinched his cheek affectionately.

„Look who's talking!" Damon told her smugly. „Are you absolutely sure you're the older one here?" he asked her, before casting a quick glance at Alaric behind his back. „Your husband looks like he's on the brink of retirement."

„Funny guy, you!" The woman laughed, playfully hitting Damon on the shoulder and walking over to her spouse, pecking his lips and accepting the coffee from his hands. She took one sip and gave it back to her husband.

„Damon made the coffee." Ric commented.

„I noticed it's not yours. It's drinkable." She smiled and walked over to one of the cabinets, as she took some boxes and matcha powders from it, along with two thermal cups. Alaric shook his head, while Damon laughed.

„So, did you sleep well? I hope Ric was a good host to you." she said as she took the milk out of the fridge and started making some weird beverages.

„Don't worry. He was perfect. And he is an awesome cook, too. You thought him well." Damon patted his friend beside him on the back.

„Well, I'm glad." She said.

„Marcel left already." Ric announced.

„I know. He said goodbye to me." Abby commented while mixing the drinks.

The conversation was cut short with the front door opening and closing in the hurried move. Damon curiously watched the entrance of the kitchen, when a young girl with blond hair and blue eyes appeared.

„Good morning, family!" she greeted them loudly, entering the kitchen with a beaming smile on her face.

„Good morning, Caroline! You're early. Bonnie's still upstairs getting ready." Abby informed her.

„Not a problem. I can wait." The blonde answered, picking up an apple from the fruit basket and wiping it with her hands.

„Caroline," Ric called for her, as she approached him. „Meet Damon Salvatore, an old friend of mine."

Damon extended his hand to the girl, that willingly accepted it, her eyes going wide at his name.

„Damon Salvatore? As in _the Salvatore_? The founding family that practically owns half of this town and the haunted house on the edge of it, along with the forest ground and one-third of the Mystic lake?"

Damon's mouth closed on mute, with an impressed face expression. Who the hell was this girl? And how did she know what his family possesses?

„Damon, this is Caroline Forbes, the walking- talking town record archive." Ric commented humorously.

„Very funny, Mr. Saltzman." The blonde snickered and turned her back in a fast and flawless motion, walking over to Abby and standing beside her.

„I'll have you know, as my history teacher, you should be impressed by my ability to remember that sort of things. You should grant me an automatic A."

„Yeah, maybe when you actually start following the class and stop applying your makeup in the middle of the lecture."

„Hey, I am a woman. We can multitask! Just ask your wife!" she said, putting a hand on the shoulder of the women beside her, that was laughing widely at the exchange.

Damon noticed Ric rolling his eyes, as he drank the rest of his coffee and turned to put the mug in the sink.

„Good morning!" the petite pretty girl entered the kitchen. She was immediately attacked by her blonde friend that was pulling her in an overbearing hug and practically choking her with surprise.

„Caroline." Bonnie mumbled as the girl pulled away smiling proudly.

The shorter girl walked over to her mother, greeting her with a kiss on the cheek.

„Did you get enough sleep? You and Marcel stayed out long last night." The older women commented with an amused smile on her face.

„We were at the Grill, shooting some pool with Josh and Vicki. We lost track of time."

„I know. I just don't like it when you stay long out on weekdays."

„Well, luckily, I was with Marcel, so you got nothing to say." She answered smugly to her mother, who gave her a knowing smile and turned back to the fridge taking some plastic containers out of it.

Damon watched discreetly from the side, as Bonnie stretched herself trying to reach a yellow mug from the upper kitchen cabinet. Her mint green top raising a little, displaying the smooth skin of her lower back, just above her jeans covered perky ass.

He swallowed a knot in his throat, while she walked over to reach the coffee container that was conveniently set between him and Ric. Just as she tilted the container over her mug, her stepdad took the container from the girl's hand and gave her a disapproving look.

„Riiiic." She whined frustrated.

„No coffee for you. Your mother is making your drink." He gestured to the woman behind her and walked away from her with the coffee in his hand.

„They're already done. Vanilla Tea Latte for you and Soy Green Tea Latte for Caroline. Both caffeine free." Abby said proudly, putting the lids on the thermal cups.

„Awww, for me too?" the blonde girl squealed in a high-pitched voice and hugged Bonnie's mother tightly. „Thank you, thank you, thank you! Oh, I swear, some days, I love you guys more than my own mother!"

Bonnie watched the exchange and rolled her eyes on it, while Caroline screeched about the stupid healthy drinks. She looked irritated, in a serious need of caffeine, which apparently her parents denied her on various occasions.

She turned around to deposit the mug into the sink and that's when she noticed the man standing beside her. She watched him with curious eyes, as he slipped his mug towards her, nudging his head in a 'go ahead' motion.

She frowned, slightly looked over her shoulder, noticing Abby was busy talking to Caroline about the gluten-free sandwiches she made for them, and Ric was cleaning up the rest, putting everything back in its place.

She looked back over to Damon, taking the mug from his hand and secretly lifting it to her lips, quickly taking a large sip from it. She savored the taste of the now already cold, but tasteful, pure black coffee. Her eyes were wide opened, looking straight at Damon, as she moved the mug away and licked her lips, enjoying the tangy aroma of the black drink.

As she set the mug down, she mouthed a 'thanks' to the handsome man, to which he winked. Her eyes traveled a little over his arms that were crossed under his chest, and then back to his eyes, which curiously flattered to Damon just a little too much.

Bonnie was a pretty girl. With olive green eyes, heart shaped face and that cute cupid bow lips, it was impossible to stay indifferent to her. There was something in that girl that just draw Damon , it was also, the same thing that bugged him and made him instantly go in the opposite direction.

Damon was a womanizer. Big time womanizer. He was a player and he played the game like a pro. He knew how to make women swoon over him, with just a raise of one of his eyebrows. He had the looks and he knew how to use them. Which didn't meant he wasn't affected when attractive women would enter his proximity. He appreciated her beauty, charms, and efforts to get his attention. Of course, he never showed it. He kept his cool and cold posture, which only lured them in more.

So, what was the problem now?

What was it, about Bonnie, that made Damon be in a constant push and pull game with himself?

Maybe, it was the fact that he shouldn't be looking at the young girl in that way.

Maybe, it was because she was still a high school girl and he would usually avoid those because they would get too clingy.

Maybe it was because she was a good girl and it would be just too wrong and too boring to do something about it.

Maybe it was because -

„Bonnie, we should go to school." Caroline interrupted his thoughts, to which Bonnie turned around and nodded her head. „We don't want to be late."

He blinked his eyes repeatedly and directed them to the floor. He got pulled in his thoughts just a little too much.

The girls took the drinks and sandwiches from Abby and proceeded to leave the kitchen. But, just as Bonnie set her foot out of the room, a throat clearing stopped her. She turned back with a knowing smile on her face and walked over to her stepfather to drop a quick kiss on his cheek.

Yeah...okay.

Damon knew what his problem was.

It was Ric.

* * *

 

* * *

Mystic Falls was small comparing to New York. But, it didn't mean it was any less alive than the Manhattan. The Big Apple was always vibrating with colors and crowded streets and the constant noise of the busy lifestyle, making you feel just like another number in that river of people.

That's where Mystic Falls had its charms. No matter how many people there were on the streets, if you're in the middle, for of any reason at all, you would be the only number that was important.

Curious looks, stunned faces and hushed comments from the townspeople, as he walked down the street, made Damon feel like he was a Hollywood movie star. There was no doubt about it. If he wasn't so far the favorite town's gossip, he was now.

Everybody knew his story. He was the 'once upon of time' bad boy of Mystic Falls that made every girl's knees buckle and every guy's face green with jealousy. All of them predicted him the same future. An unsuccessful, low-paid job at the local gas station, his good looks in young days replaced with a bad greasy hair, missing muscles, and a big fat tummy.

Oh, how wrong they were.

He showed them. He finished college and moved to the City that never sleeps, getting a job at one of the most successful firms in the State and even got declared as one of the best-looking businessmen in the USA by a local magazine, a few years ago.

True, things weren't going so bright for him now, but there was a very small chance any of them heard about the problem from his firm. Besides, it wasn't like he was being charged with anything. He was just called a witness, nothing more. And it was kept secret, that all the important employees were under the investigation of the IRS. He among them. But, they didn't know that.

„Oh my, oh my!" he heard a voice behind him, that he knew all too well. Of course, she would be the first one to approach him. She was the bloodiest gossiper in Virginia.

He turned with a smirk on his face and tilted his head at the brunette woman.

„Damon Salvatore? I do hope my eyes are not deceiving me?"

Carol Lockwood walked over to him, to embrace him in a friendly hug, with her wide eyes and a fake smile.

„Carol, always a pleasure to see you" he played along with this stupid charade she was putting on.

Like she didn't hate him. He was after all responsible for her drunk stage speech at the Christmas party in 2003. He kept pouring vodka to her cranberry juice until the pretty red color of the drink turned into a transparent, clear one. It wasn't like she did anything to stop him. He merely used the fact, that she found out about her husband's infidelity just a few days ago. Needless to say, by the end of the evening, the whole town knew about it. And they also knew that Mr. Lockwood had a tiny problem in his pants. Literally, tinny.

„Oh, I really am pleasantly surprised to see you. It's been so long." She said, dropping a hand over his shoulder.

„Yeah, ten years." He nodded.

„Has it been that long? I can't believe it!" she smiled a little wider. „You always look so darn young!"

Uooops!

There goes the friendly hand from his shoulder to a very suggestive caress over his chest.

His eyebrows shot to his forehead, looking strangely at the woman in front of him.

„Makes me think of a young handsome Giuseppe Salvatore that we all girls screamed for." She laughed, feeling his chest a bit, surprised by the firmness of it and bit her lip, which looked weird for a woman her age and status. She was trying too hard and too soon.

Plus, the whole Giuseppe comment was something that didn't give her any points in his case.

He pressed his lips into a thin line, taking her hand in his own and removing it from his chest.

„Carol, I would love to stay and chat here with you, but I'm kind of busy. So..." he let go of the hand and took a step back. „I'm gonna have to go. No hard feelings."

She shook her head with minimal shame on her face and dismissed it with her hand.

„Of course. I understand. I am very glad to see you being back here."

As they said their goodbyes, Damon turned his back on her and walked away in a little faster steps than before.

* * *

 

* * *

„What? Oh, come on!" Alaric sighed with a hint of a smile on his face, as Damon handed him his present. It was wrapped in a dark blue paper with a red ribbon on it, but it was evident it was a bottle.

Damon had announced after dinner that he had something for the family and brought a bag filled with goodies for the people around the table. True, it was only Abby and Ric, for tonight, but never the less.

„Just open it." The dark haired man said amused.

Alaric tore the paper off and observed the gift with wide eyes.

„Wha-?" he raised his eyes to his friend in shock, as he pulled the bottle from the wrapping paper. „Damon, are you kidding me with this?"

„Of course not. It's an original and very hard to find, I might add." Damon quipped.

Pappy Van Winkle's Family Reserve 15 Years was staring Ric right in the eyes. It was one of the most famous and expensive bourbons in the world, and right now he was the owner of one.

„No, I can't except this. No way." He shook his head in denial.

„Yes, you can. And you will." Damon said seriously. „Just one more thing. That is not a bottle for you to open it now, or tonight, or even tomorrow. No, that is for special occasion only. So, you better guard it for a good one."

„Thanks, man." He smiled widely, and Damon did the same before he directed his eyes on the woman situated in front of him.

„And does the lady like her present?" he asked amused again.

Abby was staring at a small red velvet jewelry box in her hand, while the other hand was covering her mouth. She was completely silent and didn't seem to notice the exchange between Damon and Alaric.

„Abby, what is it?" Ric asked curiously.

The woman jerked at the sound of her husband's voice and raised her eyes that were starting to tear up a little. She looked over to Damon and smiled sweetly.

„Damon..." she sobbed. „They're beautiful." She set the little box on the table and revealed a shiny bright pair of diamond earrings.

She stood up from the table and walked around it to get to the said man and hugged him tightly. Ric took the earrings in his hand and observed them with a still face expression.

„I take it you like them?" Damon asked Abby when she pulled out of the hug.

She laughed at him, brushing her tears away.

„I don't remember when I got something that pretty. Thank you so much. But you really shouldn't have."

„I just wanted to thank you all for everything you guys are doing for me. Letting me stay at your place for so long and tolerate me on top of it? I mean, I am not the easiest guest, I know that. I have to do something for you."

Abby smiled. „You are so much more than just a _guest_. You're practically family."

„Well, thank you for that." He said sweetly. He looked behind him at the bag he brought with him that contained two more gifts in it.

„I got presents for Bonnie and Marcel, but I guess they'll have to wait."

„Well, Bonnie's with her study group until late, and Marcel is coming..maybe next weekend." Abby commented.

„It can wait." He dismissed it. He looked over to his friend that was still sitting at the kitchen table, observing quietly the items on it. He wanted to ask him if there was something wrong, but just then the phone ringed.

„Oh, I got it." Abby said as she turned around to pick it up. „Hello? Oh, hey! I've been meaning to call you.." she walked out of the kitchen, chatting happily on the phone.

Damon silently started to clean the plates around, noticing Alaric's mood was suddenly changed. Something about these gifts made the man become too quiet and too serious.

It was obvious, it bothered him and Damon had a slight suspicion what was the problem. He just didn't want to bring it up.

The other man cleared his throat and stood up, finally.

„Look, Damon... Thank you for these gifts, but we can't take them." He said seriously.

„Ric..."

„No, it's too much. I can't accept it."

„Oh, com' on, you can't-"

„You gave my wife diamond earrings." Ric cut him off and glared at him angrily. „Diamond earrings. I work as a history teacher in a high school. I can't afford to give her diamond jewelry."

„Well, then what are you complaining about? Your wife gets a nice piece of jewelry, you get to keep your money and I get to express my gratitude. It's a win-win, Ric." Damon told him smugly.

„Except, I don't win anything, but shame, Damon."

„Ric, man." He whined, as he walked over to his friend and put his arm around the man's shoulders. „Look, you got nothing to be ashamed of. It's just another piece of crap, that she'll shove to her drawer after two weeks and forget about it. You're still the one who treats her like a queen she is, showers her with love and affection, she truly deserves and gives her multiple orgasms on her birthdays."

Ric rolled his eyes.

„Com'on, man. You know I'm not much of a word guy, I don't know what to say and how to say it, so I give. I am a giver."

Ric frowned and made a disgusted face. „Why do you have to say things like that?"

„Like what?"

„Like it's been transcripted from a porn movie?"

„Well, I guess, I'm just gifted like that." he smiled.

* * *

 

* * *

When Damon was 11 years old, his mother took him and his brother to Charlotte, North Carolina. His father had a cousin there that had children around Damon's age. Sofia and Simon were 13 year-olds and Celia was 8. The twins were on the surface well raised and decent children, but what Damon got to know for the few days he was there, was that looks can be deceiving.

Those kids were anything but good. They knew how to raise trouble, that would escalate to enormous proportions, but they also knew how to stay completely innocent in front of their parents. The first day he was there, they took him to a store where they stole chocolates, candies, and magazines. On the second day, they scattered around the neighbor's chickens, took the freshly laid eggs and egged the cars from the side of the road.

That was the first time he tried smoking. Simon and some of his friends made him try it, even though he was not very interested in it. When the smoke entered his lungs, he felt like he was gonna die. It burned his chest as a violent cough attacked him, making all the boys around him to laugh at his expense.

Over the years, he was never that eager to try it again, until he came to live in NY. Around there everybody smoked. And it was easy to fall under the pressure. He never became a chronic smoker, but it was an awful habit he just didn't want to give up on.

So, here he was once again, inhaling the nicotine smoke in his lungs, walking around the picture-perfect suburb, at 2 a.m., trying to fight off the tiring insomnia. It was his second night in Mystic Falls, and he still couldn't sleep. He thought that lighting up a cigarette was something that could help him find some piece.

Everything around him was so peaceful. There was not a soul on the street. It was quiet and calm, just as he remembered. There were no people hurriedly pacing him by in the middle of the night like it was noon. There were no nervous drivers, angry at the traffic, there was no smell of the concrete and exhaust gasses. Just peace and quiet.

The roaring of a sports car made him frown in surprise. It was not something that was common to see around, and especially around here. He turned around and followed the car with his eyes until it pulled by the side. The little red car stopped across the street from Ric's house and when the door opened, a leggy brunette girl exited from it, moving the front seat, letting the girl from the back seat out.

Damon stood there, in the middle of the sidewalk, watching Bonnie embrace the first girl and saying goodbye to whomever it was still inside the car. She quickly crossed the road, not noticing him, as the car drove off.

He was kind of curious where she was right now because he saw earlier when she came home around 10 p.m. She went straight to bed, saying how tired she was from all the studying, making her parents proudly beaming of their diligent daughter. And now he caught her getting out of a suspicious car and sneaking back into her house, in the middle of the night.

He hurried after the girl, that was not going to the front door, but the side of the house, where the additional trellises were. He watched her with curious eyes as she climbed on the makeshift latter, that were directly under the window of her room.

Damon retreated behind a tree on the front lawn, when she looked behind her over the street, checking if somebody saw her. She pulled the window up, skillfully getting in her room. When he saw her closing down the window and pulling on the curtains, he relaxed and leaned his back on the tree. He threw the already burned cigarette on the ground, treading it with his right foot and going back inside of the house.

* * *

 

* * *

Damon didn't know how to cook. In New York, he always ate in fancy restaurants usually accompanied by his work colleges or girlfriend of the week. He also had Theresa, his housemaid who prepared him only homecooked meals. And if in some cases, if the first or second weren't available, there was always take out. He wasn't a fan of it, except for Chinese, which was probably the only take out he ever ordered.

But, him making meals, all by himself?

No. That was something he never did. He only knew how to use a coffee maker in the kitchen and that was because Theresa wrote it down to him at one occasion. He didn't even know how to use a microwave oven because he didn't have one. So, he never had the need to learn how to use it. But, why would he?Like, that was something he was gonna benefit from.

Oh, how, those words came to bite him in the ass.

He was currently in the middle of a staring contest with the microwave oven at the Saltzman – Bennett residence, trying to figure out what the stupid machine had against him. Ric left him a frozen half - cooked Salisbury steak, which he only had to heat in the devil's device.

He placed the steak inside and closed the door on the microwave, looking at the drawn pictures and numbers that kept popping out on the display. He pressed the keys, trying to find the right one, but he had no idea what the hell was he doing. It started beeping and making strange noises, but Damon couldn't stop it. He grabbed the box from the steak and tried to look for instructions, but he couldn't find a damn thing.

„Freaking hell! Just stop and make me some dinner!" He cursed as he threw the box behind his back, shaking his head and banging on the microwave. "Stupid technology!"

„Unfortunately, it doesn't work on insults."

A voice from behind surprised him. Bonnie was standing at the kitchen door, looking at him with an amused face and her arms crossed over her chest.

„I can't get this thing to do what it does!" he pointed frustrated on the microwave, as he stepped aside.

The girl walked over and in a few clicks, she had it running properly.

„There. It will be done in 6 minutes." She said as she stood straight and faced him.

„Thanks." He said shortly, looking anywhere but her, his frustration all worn off now, with shame starting to show.

She stood with one hand on her hip, and the other one leaning on the kitchen, watching him squirm under her look. She was biting her cheeks to keep herself from bursting to laugh and he could feel it coming.

„Okay. I'm dumbass in the kitchen." He admitted as he rolled his eyes, and saw the girl letting a short laugh, but stopping herself, just in time.

„Hey, no judgment. Really." She said, trying to hold herself not to insult the man in front of her.

„Really?" he asked her doubtful.

She pressed her lips into a thin line. „Oh, there is judgment!" She snickered and covered her mouth with her hand. She was bursting into laughter, that actually made tears appear in her eyes. He nodded his head and turned around, as he listened to her melodic giggles filled out the room.

„Sorry. I am really, really sorry." She said as she came down from her hysteria, so he faced her again and shook his head.

„It's fine." He shrugged his shoulders, even though he was completely humiliated. A grown ass man who couldn't even make the microwave oven to work. If it wasn't so funny, it would be tragic.

„No, it isn't. That was so rude of me to laugh, that hard. I really am sorry." She said, all serious, that Damon actually believed her.

„Don't beat yourself up with it."

She nodded and he could still see the crystal shine in her eyes. The small sparkle of tears made them appear even bigger and greener than before. Her cheeks were full and they looked so soft. The sunset that was shining in from the windows made her skin bright up and glitter under the yellow-orange tone in the room.

„So..." she started as she turned her head in the direction of the doorway. „Is somebody else home? Or did they left you all alone?"

„Well, Ric got called in some kind of neighborhood meeting, so he left. He asked me to come with but..." he just shook his head in denial.

„Right." She nodded again.

She turned to cheek the time left in the oven and started looking around the kitchen, the only sound coming from the microwave. Her eyes settled on him again, and she nervously smiled, before letting her look wander off again.

„So... are you hungry or?" he asked her, looking behind her at the oven.

„Oh, no. I already ate." She answered quickly.

„Hmmm.." he nodded this time. „Good. Good."

Yep. He was the king of awkward conversations, right now. Why did he lose his inhibition to talk like a normal guy in front of her, was the question. It was like middle school, all over again.

He heard Bonnie exhaled deeply, looking at him again, with a more relaxed smile on her lips.

„If you don't mind me asking..." she started, „How is it that you make an awesome coffee, yet you can't turn on a microwave oven?"

A warm smile spread over his lips.

„Well, if you must know... Having a cup of coffee in the morning is the only thing I need to make my day perfect. If I don't start with that, there's really no point of rising from the bed every morning. So, I learned how to use a coffee maker and it is literally the only household appliance you have, that I know how to use."

She laughed lightly. „That is...It's..." she didn't know what so say. „That is really sad." Or maybe she did.

„Hey, you're being rude again." He warned her, as she continues to laugh. „It's not that I never knew. I use to know when I was in college, but I forgot. I usually eat out, so it wasn't necessary for me to relearn it again."

„Of course." She said with certainty. „Why would you wanna know something, if you can pay others to do it for you?"

„Exactly."

„Right. I mean your time is too precious for wasting it on things, that normal people do every day."

She had a serious face on now, but the last comment was a little off.

„You're this big famous businessman in the Manhattan." She said, her voice going a few tone lower, faking admiration.

He frowned. Was she making fun of him?

„Well, yeah.." he said slowly. „I actually am."

„Sure you are. Mr. Important."

And now he was convinced she was making fun of him. The slight smile on her face was telling him, she was taunting him. There was something about her look, that told him to do something about it. It was playful and daring.

„Stop with the mocking." He told her, taking a step closer, trying to intimidate her, but it only made her smile widened.

„You're not funny." He said, taking one more step further.

She nodded her head as he stood above her, looking down on her. He pointed a finger in front of her face, but his threat was short-lived, as she slapped it away playfully. She laughed at his attempt to keep the finger up as she repeatedly pushed it away.

„Okay." He said exasperated, setting his hand down.

She had this proud victory smile on and held her head high. It was endearing in a very weird way. It was innocent, but mischievous at the same time. He wasn't really sure what to say or do, she was pretty straightforward with him for somebody who she just met. But, then again, it was probably a family trait, seeing as everybody was friendly with each other. They were more relaxed from what he got used to in New York. He almost forgot how the people in small towns were less uptight and honest.

He smiled at the Bonnie, too, shaking his head, thinking how dumb it was to understand her any differently from what she really was. Just a simple, nice, funny girl.

The beeping sound from the microwave alarmed them that the meal was done. Bonnie opened the door and took out the plate, setting it on the kitchen counter in front of Damon.

„You sure you don't want some?" he asked her, as he was taking the dinner set from the drawer.

„I'm sure. Enjoy!" she smiled and with that, she was out.


	3. Different lives

She had a frown on her face as she watched with interest the item in her hands. He managed to catch up with her one afternoon, just as she was getting ready to leave the house. Bonnie was a very busy girl. She had daily obligations and it was hard to find the right moment to talk to her.

Damon's smile was stretched all over his lips, waiting for her enthusiasm to kick in. He was a master in gifting. There was never a disappointed face after he delivered his present. He knew how to read people and he knew how to use that.

However, to read Bonnie...well, it wasn't the easiest, but he made a point in NOT trying. There was something in him, that was pulling him away from her. He didn't want to get too close because she seemed as trouble. Not that she was a troubled girl, she was actually quite normal and nice, but whenever he was around her, there was this alarm that went on in him. He didn't know how to turn it off, so he just settled for avoiding. It was the smartest move.

„It's an envelope." She stated the obvious, shifting the pink paper in her hands.

„Well, open it, duh." Damon rolled his eyes in-joke.

She did as she was told and snatched it open, to pull out a colorful plastic card and raised her eyebrows as she observed it from all sides.

„I bought everybody something, as a thank you for letting me stay here, so...this one is yours." He told her.

She raised her eyes to his, with no smile, no word, no expression what so ever.

„You got me a gift card." She said flatly. It was more in a boring tone than insulting, but somehow it seemed later to him.

„It's a 200$ gift certificate for _Bath and Body Works_." He explained and she just nodded her head.

He was waiting for it to dawn on her, the gift, the money, the card, but nothing did. She was cold and indifferent like he just handed her a blank piece of paper.

„You can use it online because they have no shop in Mystic Falls." He advised her, thinking maybe that was what confused her.

„I know." She nodded.

But it wasn't confusion. It wasn't enthusiasm. It wasn't anything. There was no reaction from the green eyed girl.

„You don't like it." He said slowly.

„What?" she asked. „No. No. I do." She said, not very convincingly.

„You don't." He concluded.

„No. It's fine."

„Fine?" he felt insulted. His tone was low and angry. „Fine isn't great. Or awesome. Or mindblowing. Fine is just fine. It's mediocre. Mediocre sucks. And I..." he snatched the card away from her. „Don't do mediocre. I do awesome. And mindblowing.-"

„I'm sure you do." She cut him off, her eyes not paying much attention, watching something behind him.

He paused, observing her face, that showed disinterest for anything he was saying.

„I'll get you something else."

She started to laugh. „Don't be ridiculous. This is enough." She took the card from him and put it back in the envelope.

„But you don't like it."

She sighed and raised her eyes to him again. „Sometimes it's hard to gift somebody who you don't know that well. Sometimes it's okay to be mediocre."

„I'm not mediocre." He said angrily. She was starting to piss him off. „I know how to gift people. I know how to guess what they want. It's actually my specialty. Something I'm very skilled at and very proud of. It's actually the reason why I'm so good at my job. I know the right way and amount that's gonna please people. So, don't tell me I'm mediocre."

Her eyebrows were practically in her hairline. Yeah, he had issues. And somebody saying he was just not good enough, stricken the core in him.

„Sorry. I was not trying to insult you. It's a nice gift." She said waving the envelope in her hand.

„No, it's not. I'll get something else." He said frowning like he was already thinking what.

„You don't-"

„I will get you something else." He cut her off, rolling his eyes. „And you're going to love it."

„Don't count on it." She mumbled in a bored tone.

Damon shook his head slightly in confusion. Wasn't it common courtesy to accept somebody's gift no matter what it was? It wasn't about the gift itself, but more about the mere gesture. At least that's how he was raised. Well, the good parts, regardless how rare they were.

The problem was...Damon doubted Bonnie was raised any differently in that case. Considering, Ric was her stepfather, he was absolutely sure he thought her about proper manners. So, why was did her behavior seemed off the charts here?

 _She was playing a game._ That's what a voice in his head told him.

That was exactly the reason why he thought she was trouble. In a way, she was just a normal girl, you know, the classic good girl from next door. The one who always did everything right, who listened to her parents, who was polite to everybody around her. There were no drawbacks to that kind of girl. But, Bonnie didn't seem to be that type. Not entirely. He couldn't say for sure, but behind those green eyes and perfect face, Damon could see trouble.

„I'm just saying..." there was a playful smile on her face and her eyes were crystal clear, „I'm a hard woman to please." as she turned around and walked out of the room.

His head tilted to the side.

Yup, this girl was definitely trouble.

* * *

 

* * *

There wasn't much to do in this place. Mystic Falls was as dull as always. Damon spent his days, trying to familiarize himself again with the small town way of life. Going in morning walks around town, which almost every day ended up, him drinking and playing darts with the bartender at the Mystic Grill. Usually, it was either Mason or Henry, but sometimes even Krystal would play with him.

He joined the gym at the Washington Street so he would stay in shape, but he went just once and got bored very soon. He even tried grocery shopping with Ric but left shortly after his friend picked up the third item and started reading the ingredients list. In the evenings, he would listen to Abby talk about work and the Whitmore University, as well as Bonnie talked about her day if she would join them for dinner.

Today was Wednesday, and it has been 8 days since he came back to Mystic Falls. He finally received the package from his brother from Europe, who sent him the key of their family house at the edge of town. He had lost his years ago, so he waited for it to arrive from Europe.

Tomorrow, he would go see the big old mansion, to check what kind of work was necessary to do, before he could move back in. He loved being at Alaric's, but he felt bad for intruding on the family's life.

He entered his best friend's house while reading a note his brother sent along with the key.

_Here's the key, bro. It's not like I can keep you out. Even though I would want to._

_Peace out, Stefan._

He smiled and shook his head at his brother's writing. He was always such a weirdo.

„Hey."

He looked at the direction of the voice and saw Bonnie sitting on the armchair, in the living room. She was munching on a bowl of popcorns, with her legs safely tucked under her. He didn't expected anyone a home, because he knew Abby was still at work and Ric stayed at school to grade some papers. And Bonnie, being home was the last thing he thought he'll see. She was always busy, busy, busy.

„Hey." He said quietly as he entered the living room, and took off his leather jacket, dropping it over the couch, on which he sat down. He looked over to the TV, frowning at what Bonnie was watching.

„Is that...?"

„'Carrie'." She cut him off. „Yeah."

It was the 2013 version. He gave her a look that read 'Really?'

„What? I like horror movies." She shrugged and popped another popcorn in her mouth.

„Well, there are way better ones than this one." He said as he leaned his back on the couch and made himself comfortable.

„Popcorn?" she extended the bowl towards him and he took a handful of the snacks.

They watched the movie in silence for awhile, but then something distracted Damon from it. There was a big heavy book on the table. It was a familiar dark blue cover with the official stamp from The Whitmore University. It was written in golden cursive letters _: Class of 2007_.

„What is this?" he asked as he took the book in his hands.

„Ric's Yearbook," Bonnie answered. „I was kind of bored, so I skimmed it a little."

„You know I was in here, too?" he asked, more rhetorically.

„Yeah, I noticed." She said.

He turned the pages and laughed with his head tilting at the back.

„Oh, you've got to be kidding me!"

Bonnie stood up from her armchair and set the bowl of popcorn on the table, squeezing herself into a tight spot next to Damon. She tucked one of her legs under her and turned her body in his direction, giving him her full attention.

„That's you and Ric?" she asked him, and he nodded. „You were such dorks." She commented on a photo of the two young boys, making funny faces at the camera and embracing each other.

He turned the pages furthermore, looking at the pictures of some people he didn't remember and the ones he did. His lips were constantly curved in a smile, reminiscing about his college years.

„You were on the football team?" she asked as they came across a photo of the Whitmore's Eagles.

„Yeah." He nodded.

„I don't remember Ric saying he was into football."

„He wasn't. It was my thing. I use to play it all the time with my brother. Ric was more of a 'drinking at the parking lot before the game' kind of guy."

„Oh, my God! You had curly hair?" she asked laughing and pointing at the photo.

„Yup." He was laughing loudly.

„How come it's not curly anymore?" she looked at his current hair, that was straight and cut shorter.

„Well, I use to let it grew longer, so it would twist at the ends." He said, waving his hand around his head.

Before he could say or do anything else, he felt fingers brushing on top of his head. He looked at the girl beside him, while she watched with admiration what she was doing.

„It's so soft." She said as she tugged his hair lightly and smiled. „I like it."

It was becoming an issue. Her delicate hands in his hair, her clear tender eyes on him, her full lips slightly parted just waiting for someone to bruise them with eager kisses. And he would like to be that someone.

No.

No.

He can not be that someone.

He moved his eyes from her face and slowly shifted his head, so she could let go of his hair. She just lowered her hand and continued to look at the yearbook, like nothing happened. To her, probably nothing did. She wasn't the one having inappropriate thoughts about the person next to her.

And as much as he wanted to concentrate on the book and pictures in his hands, it was becoming harder and harder.

He was becoming highly aware of her proximity to him. How her one leg was touching his leg, how her hands were constantly touching him in a joking matter, and how that sweet lavender scent was drifting from her silky skin.

For the first time tonight he noticed what she was wearing. Black yoga pants, red tank top, all tight around her body. The only thing that was helping was the gray cardigan she had on.

She leaned closer to him, smiling at the yearbook. He had absolutely no idea what they were looking anymore. All he knew, was there was this hot girl sitting impossibly close to him and he was too much coward to do something about it.

Usually, by this time, he would have her on her back, pressed under his body, begging for mercy as his hands, lips and other parts of his body touched her in a way she had never been touched before. He couldn't help himself than to imagine her between his silky bedsheets, arching her back in pleasure, reacting on each lovely touch he would bring to her perfect body, along with the strong, magical spazams enjoying every bit of it.

But, then again, there was still that thing that was stopping him from doing exactly that.

He shook his head, diverting his eyes back on the book as he saw a photo of the college trip to Washington his freshman year. He and Ric were in the back of the photo, laughing at something, not paying any attention to what their professor was saying.

The two of them had too much history together. There were years of loyalty, trust, and respect between them. He would never in his right mind do anything to hurt Ric or somebody he cared for. And Bonnie was somebody who Ric cared for, infinitely.

So, he decided to do the only brave thing a man in his place could.

„Okay, yeah." He mumbled, shifting in his seat.

He closed the yearbook abruptly and stood up from the couch like a rocket has been lansed up from his ass. Bonnie looked at him like he was a crazy man with wide eyes and dropped jaw.

„I think I'm gonna go get a shower." He said nervously.

„Oh..okay." The girl said slowly, moving her eyes away from him in surprise, drifting them around the the living room awkwardly

He nodded quickly, throwing the book on the couch next to her and sprinted out of the room.

* * *

 

* * *

The Salvatore boarding house was once upon a time the most alive and crowded places in Mystic Falls. That was back when his uncle Zach was running it. But after his girlfriend got pregnant, they moved to New Orleans and left everything to Damon's father Giuseppe.

At that time Damon was 4 years old and his brother wasn't even in the plans. He only vaguely remembered his mother from that time. She was quite different back then. People use to say she was the bright spirit of Mystic Falls with the most beautiful smile you could ever imagine.

They moved to the big mansion and Damon got a room at the end of the hallway, right across his parent's room. There was a big garden in the back, that went along with the woods, so he loved to spend his time running around.

His mother would sit at the garden chairs and sing a song while knitting him socks and scarfs for the winter. His father occupied the business with the boarding house and others firms he had along. He had factories all over Virginia.

That was the happiest time in Damon's life. Because after that, everything just went downwards.

He thought about that time, as he parked Ric's minivan that he lent him, in front of the big old house. It didn't look anything like it used to. It was neglected for the over 10 years. So, he expected there was going to be a lot of work around her.

He sighed heavily before he pushed the key in the keyhole and twisted it, hearing a loud click as the door fell open. He entered slowly, carefully choosing his steps because there was no tell if the floor was safe entirely.

There was a heavy, awful smell inside and all the windows were covered with wooden boards, so it was pretty dark. Of course, there was no electricity so he used a flashlight he took from Ric's garage. He walked inside of the large sitting room and looked around. There really wasn't much to see or do, and everything was covered in thick dust and white sheets.

He turned around and exited the house, as he retrieved from the trunk of his car a tool box. When he got back inside he turned left and went straight to the library.

He deposited the flashlight on the table and used a hammer to take off the wooden boards from the windows. As the first beam of sunlight entered, he felt like a huge burden has been removed from his chest. He continued to take them all off and opened all the windows to let the fresh air in and the April sun warm up the room.

The library was spacious, with antic furniture and a big fireplace in the middle. Plus, it had the largest selection of literature. The bookshelves were all around the room, on the walls of the library, from floor to ceiling. It was Damon's favorite room in the house. It was where he spent most of his days and sometimes even nights.

He remembered one particular night when he was 9 years old.

_The boarding house was still running, although it was loosing its touch, as well as its visitors. It was around midnight when he woke up from a nightmare. He was covered in cold sweat in his bed. As he got up from it and walked out to the long, dark hallway, he looked down at the door of his parent's room. It was all the way on the other side from his._

_His mother said they gave him another room because it was more appropriate for the guests, but he knew better. He knew she wanted to move him far away from their room, so he wouldn't hear the arguments and the fights. The last couple of years, his father had developed quite a temper. It went along horribly with his new tendency for alcohol._

_Damon could hear the quiet, which meant that his father was already passed out from all the wine he had at dinner. He didn't want to disturb them, not to risk Giussepe's waking up because nights like these, when he was fast asleep were rare and they meant the most to his mother. So, he decided to go down on the first floor. When he came down the stairs, he saw a light burning at the library. The first thing that crossed his mind was it was his father._

_But, it was simply too quiet. So, he slowly walked over, step by step, to take a look who was at this time of the night awake. When he reached the door, he looked inside and saw a man sitting in a chair with his back facing the door. He had a book in his lap and a pocket watch in his hand that he was playing with._

_Damon observed the man from behind. He had dark hair and it seemed he was dressed in a gray suit. He was the only guest at the boarding house for the night._

„ _Don't just stand at the door, boy. Come on in." He heard the man say._

_He didn't even turn around to look at him, but somehow he knew he was there. Damon slowly walked into the room, watching closely the man, and sitting at one of the large sofas on the opposite from the stranger._

„ _Why are you not in bed?" the man asked him._

_He just shrugged his shoulders shyly._

„ _You can't sleep?" he asked him, to which Damon nodded._

„ _Why not? Something bothering you?" he asked, but this time the young boy answered._

„ _I had a nightmare."_

„ _I see. Those can be quite awful." He said. He observed the boy curiously, that was looking at the book he was reading. „Did you read 'Moby Dick'?" he asked him._

_Damon shook his head._

„ _Do you know how to read?"_

_He nodded._

„ _Do you want to read it now?" he asked him, but Damon stayed silent. „Do you want me to read it to you?"_

_He waited for the answer, but it didn't come. He started to read aloud. By the time he finished the page, the boy was fast asleep on the sofa. Damon didn't remember what did he read to him exactly, he just knew it soothed him._

_He woke up in the morning, back in his bed, but with no memory how he got there. He searched the house looking for the man, but he was long gone. He never knew if it was a dream or reality, but it was just what he needed._

_He got more affection from the stranger, for whom he didn't even know if he was real than from his own father. So, when he wanted to sleep or relax, he would always come in the library. He would sit on the sofa, imagining a voice filling the room, telling him stories he was eager to hear._

* * *

 

* * *

The roaring noise of the engine was just the thing he wanted to hear. The sweet purring of his old car was like music to his ears. He didn't even turn the radio on, so he would listen to the engine work. As he was driving down the streets of his hometown in his old blue baby, he felt 18 again.

He turned right, parking the car swiftly at the driveway of the Saltzman-Bennett property. Just as he cut the engine off and stood up from the seat, the front door of the house opened, revealing Abby and Ric.

„What the-!" Abby exclaimed, and it only spread Damon's smile on his face. „Where did this come from? I can't believe you still have it!"

„Yep! Found it in the garage of the boardinghouse, sitting right next to Stefan's granny mobile."

Abby laughed. „It still looks good."

„Does it work?" Ric asked, still standing at the door, not moving from his spot.

„Yeah, just needs a couple of new things, but it's good. It still purrs like a kitty." Damon said smugly.

A mess of dark curls appeared next to Ric, looking with curiosity what was going on.

„Oh my God!" Bonnie screamed in excitement and pushed Ric of her way. She stopped at the car looking at it like it's an angel fallen from the sky.

„Oh my God!" she yelled again, touching the hood lightly with her fingers. „Whose car is this?"

„That would be mine." Damon said flatly.

Her eyes widened and her mouth fell open as she looked at Damon than the car, then Damon again.

„You like?" he asked her.

„Are you kidding me? It's gorgeous! Uh, I bet it's quite a ride in it!"

„You wanna try it?" he asked her with a smile.

Her eyes widened, as she looked over to her parents. „Can I?"

„Yeah, sure go on!" Abby answered with a smile.

Damon opened the passenger door to her and she slipped in happily.

* * *

 

* * *

When Damon turned 18 and inherited the whole money his family left him, he already had it set in his mind what's he going to do with it. One of the first things he was buying himself was a car. And not just any car. 1969. Chevy Camaro Convertible.

It was his absolute number 1. He always thought he deserved it, after everything he and his brother went through. And, of course, his brother was not out of the equation. When he asked his 14-year-old brother what car he wanted, his answer was a Porsche.

So, when Stefan turned 18, Damon bought him a 1963 Porsche 356b Karmann Coupe, just before his little brother left for college.

Earlier today, while he was wandering his old house, he made his way to the garage and found his old Camaro, and boy did that bring out memories. He had some good times in that car. Back in NY, he changed his cars regularly, and at one point he was sure had about 5 or 6 of them. But, not any of those machines could make him feel like he felt behind the wheel of his favorite blue baby.

Bonnie was sitting beside him with a beaming smile on her face, as they speeded out the road just outside of Mystic Falls. She was playing with the radio, listening to an old CD, that in no doubt belonged to Stefan.

„I love this car!" she exclaimed as she turned the volume down on it. „How do you have it?"

„I bought it. A couple of years ago, but it was sitting in the garage till now."

„Why would you let this beauty sit in a garage? It seems unfair."

She dragged her fingers over the dashboard in front of her. It's dusty, but she doesn't mind it. It fascinated her.

„When I moved to NY, I didn't take it with me. And when I got my first big check, I bought myself a new R8, so I didn't need it."

Bonnie shook her head. „I never understood the appeal in European cars."

„Well, it was more about flaunting, than anything else."

„You got nothing to flaunt in a foreign country car."

„Says the girl behind the wheel of a Japanese hybrid."

She rolled her eyes at him. „Well, I didn't choose it. If I did, I would have taken something like this." She said looking around the car. „Nothing better than a good old American muscle."

Her tone got a little deeper with the last part. If he didn't know any better, he would have seen the double meaning. He didn't let his brain go there, again. He didn't even let his eyes go there again either. He just set them straight, like nothing was bothering him.

„Yeah, well this car's good. Maybe the only problem is the year of a manufacture, but-"

„Oh, that doesn't bother me at all." Bonnie cut him off. „That's where his appeal comes from. Besides, if it's older, only means it's more experienced."

Right now, he wasn't really sure they were talking about cars anymore. There was this weird voice in his head that was telling him, she was testing him. She was trying to get a rise out of him, by not being oo obvious. He has met enough women in his life, that he knew how they usually play. She dropped him the bait, and all he had to do was to bite on it. But, that was the thing. He was usually the one, on the other end of the bait. He was the one throwing it, not trying to catch it.

He curiously looked at the girl on the passenger seat, and she appeared to be oblivious to everything. She was once again playing with the radio, humming along with the songs, looking out of the window and not showing any shame or awareness of her words.

Yeah, he made it up again.

It was his dirty mind making an appearance in the most inconvenient moments.

He needed to stop doing that.

Making sweet innocent Bonnie, to have the leading role in some sick twisted fantasies of his. She was just a pretty young girl. She was innocent and good. Most of all, she was Ric's stepdaughter. It's not like he had any bad thoughts about her, it's just that it seemed wrong to even think of her in that aspect.

When a man sees an attractive woman in the street, he looks at her, he studies her and in his head, he already has a worked out plan of how he's gonna sweep her off her feet. How he's gonna approach her, what she will say, what she will do, and the guy has to be prepared for absolutely everything. It's this complicated chain of events, that eventually follows to the prize, and that's exactly what the guy is after. With more time and more experience, the guy gets quicker and more skilled in the game, so it's easier to pick up a woman.

Damon was quite sure he had the game. There was never a woman that was immune to his looks and charms. And every time, the answer would be NO, he knew exactly how to turn it into a YES.

But, here, he felt out of the game. Bonnie shouldn't even be in the game. He couldn't even let himself look at her. He never let his eyes wonder too much on her because it felt very wrong. He knew it was wrong and bad and awful.

But, he couldn't stop his mind and let that small, minuscule part in, where it felt just too good and too sweet to ignore it.

So, sometimes, he would let his eyes to have a mind of his own. Maybe, just a peek of her toned legs in those cute shorts or her lined shoulders in thin sleeveless tops, or just any exposed part of her sun-kissed skin, that had an exquisite scent and shine. Something that fascinated him, every time he would look at it. It looked so fresh and untouched, that it makes a man like him go crazy.

But, those moments were short. He had to much respect for her, her family and her stepfather to let his mind go too far. He knew, if he would let it, he wouldn't be able to look at his best friend ever again. So, he just let it slide. Forget it. And move on.

* * *

* * *

He knew he was safe once he parked the car in the driveway. Bonnie exited the car and turned to him with a wide smile.

„Thanks for the ride. It was great!" she gestured with her hands and just as Ric appeared behind her, she skipped inside the house.

Damon blew an exhale, telling himself it was safe to breathe again. He wasn't in a cramped up space with the teenage beauty anymore. He was outside and she was out of sight.

He managed to straighten himself quickly, diverting his eyes at his best friend, that was walking slowly over to him, hands in pockets, with a skeptical look on the car. Something about it bothered Damon, but he wasn't going to be the one to address it.

Truth was, there was some tension between the two best friends ever since Damon got off that plane. Something was hanging in the air, and Damon had a feeling that Ric had a lot of words he wanted to say to him, but he was just stopping himself from it.

„This brings out memories, ha?" Damon asked, looking at the car.

The brunette man nodded his head slowly.

„So, it's working all right?"

„Seems like it," Damon answered, taking the keys and opening the hood. „I mean, I need to get some minor things done, like the oil filter, brake backing plate, and clutch disk, but that's it. Maybe some new tires, too. I'll take it tomorrow to the auto shop."

Ric learned over the opened hood, observing the car engine.

„And how do you plan on paying for it?"

„Well, I have savings. You know, stuff out of the bank, they couldn't take from me."

„Right." Ric nodded, but then frowned. „I thought you were using that money for the house repairment."

„I am. I got for both." Damon said coldly, although it was starting to irritate him, how his friend was so concerned about his financial state.

„Aren't you suppose to have those savings for rainy days or something?"

Damon raised himself straight, sending a questioning look to his friend.

„I said I got it covered, Ric." He said a little on edge and continued to check the oil and water.

„I know you do. I'm just saying, maybe you should leave that money for some other times and try to find another way to pay the house repairment and the car."

„Like what? Get a job at the local gas station? Or at' Buck and sons' hardware store?" he asked mockingly.

A couple of days ago, Ric actually offered him the help to get a job at the hardware store. He said he would give a good word for him to old Buck and he would give him the job, no doubt. Of course, Damon politely declined. He didn't want the job, cause he was still planning on returning to NY, once the trial picks up and get his old job back. He was merely on a vacation for now.

„You know, Damon it's not dishonorable to admit you need help sometimes." Ric told him.

„I know it's not. But, I don't need it." He said.

Ric snorted in disbelief. „Whatever you say, man." He turned his back on Damon and walked to the back of the house, heading to the backyard.

He didn't notice Damon, who silently followed him there, with an angry expression on his face. When he turned to look at him, the blue eyed man exploded.

„What the hell is your problem, Ric?"

„Problem? I don't' have a problem." he said, faking ignorance.

„Yeah? Well, it seems to me you got something to say, so why don't you just go ahead and say it."

„I already told you. I just wanted to give you some advice on handling some stuff, but you don't want to hear it."

„Yeah, and I appreciate your concern, but it's my business. You got no say in it." Damon started to leave, but Ric stopped him from it very quickly.

„Do you really think that nobody can see through that 'tough guy macho stuff' you got going on? I mean, it was entertaining when we were younger, Damon, but now it's just sad."

Damon looked straight at Ric, frowning at his words, feeling the rush of anger and irritation for what he was saying to him.

„And what is that suppose to mean?" he asked in a low tone, not letting his rage show just yet.

„It means, you come here with your fancy clothes, high style shoes and expensive gifts for my wife and kids, flaunting your money and success, rubbing it all over town, trying to show everybody how you made it out and just how better you are than all of us!"

„I did make it out!"

„Well, good for you! But, that doesn't give you the right to treat the rest of us like trash! Just because we didn't move to big cities and change ourselves completely, doesn't mean we're not worth it! We got respectful jobs and honest accomplishments, so comparing us to you is a low blow!"

„You're right about that, Ric. We can't compare ourselves! Our lives are too different and our choices are worlds apart, so there is no point in even trying to understand each other!"

„And that's the truth!" Ric said pointing his finger at Damon, who looked at him questionably. „That right there! You never understood why I did what I did and why I separated myself from your lifestyle all those years ago! You never liked my choices! Ever!"

„I don't need to like them, Ric!"

„NO! But, you should at least respect them!"

Damon walked over closer to his friend.

„I never judged you! I never said anything against you! On the other hand, here you are, judging me and my life like I'm some kind of a snob and not your best friend!"

„Well, you turned into a snob!" Ric told him, to which Damon's eyes widened. „I'm sorry, Damon, but you did! Can't you see the patterns that are going on? Don't you see the similarities that your current life situation has with the once upon a time 'Golden hand of Mystic Falls'?"

This got Damon's full attention. His face turned into the blank when he heard those words leave Ric's mouth. It was one thing to spit on him and his way of life in the Manhattan. Damon couldn't exactly blame him on that. Ric couldn't understand how the big city life can change a man in his core. You let your job dictate your habits and clothes, your nutrition and style, and it gets inside your head, so you change yourself, ultimately.

But, Damon wasn't ashamed of what he had become. He was proud of his life and job in NY because it formed him into a person he was today.

He always wanted to be bigger and more successful than his father, the 'Golden hand of Mystic Falls', as they called him. His father was a good business man, but he was not a good person. He had businesses in Mystic Falls and all over Virginia, but all the money he earned was 'dirty'.

His father was the number one in deceiving and pretenses, and he knew how to delude people into believing he was actually doing something good. The pretend charity auctions and parties were his main source of the dirty money exchanges. Damon hated him for that.

„You don't know what you're talking about, Ric!" He said through greeted teeth.

„Oh, really?"

„Yes, really! So shut up!"

„Why?! What's happening, Damon? Afraid I might be right?! Your father was a first class fraud, and you hated him so much for it! And, look at you now! You're one step from becoming the same dirtbag he was back then!"

„What is your problem, Ric?" he asked him again, shaking his head in disbelief.

„You know damn well as I do, that all the things your boss has done, you were in it! You knew every single thing and you helped him steal and cheat all that money! You're that ambitious, Damon! You want accomplishments and you won't stop, it doesn't matter what or who you have to cross to get it! Well, congratulates, man! You made it!" he fake clapped to him. „You showed us all!"

„I did, didn't I?" Damon asked, widening his eyes at the man in front of him. „I made something of myself. I got out of this shit town and made myself into a successful businessman! Are you jealous, Ric? Is that it? You envy me on my life and all I did, while you were stuck in the same town you always were, working a low paid job in the same high school you attended and playing 'The Brady Bunch' with a woman who was _maybe_ a little too old for you!"

„Hey, don't you dare insult my family, Damon!" there was a warning hand waving in front of Damon's face.

„I'm not insulting anybody here, Ric! But, you can't help it! You can't stop from asking yourself that maybe if you made some different choices, what your life could've been like now? Maybe if you just weren't in such a hurry to tie yourself down, your life could have been better! Maybe it would have been fun!"

„You think I regret my choices? That I regret my family?"

„I'm not saying you regret it! But, it makes you think about it, doesn't it?"

„My family is the biggest accomplishment I made! I love my wife every day more and more! And my kids are my biggest treasure and pride! Marcel and Bonnie became everything I ever wanted from them and more! They are good people with proper values and prosperities, that's gonna make them get far and high in life!"

„And I don't doubt that, Ric! But, those are not your accomplishments! They are theirs! Don't build your own hopes and dreams on their lives, cause you know first handed, that's the wrong approach!"

„What are you talking about?"

„I'm talking about the fact, that ever since _I_ came here, _you_ 've been flaunting their lives in front of my face, like some kind of trophies or medals that _you_ got! It's all _veeery_ impressive, Ric until it gets _sad_! And it _gets_ sad when you talk about the accomplishments that you made as a father to, let's be honest, a couple of kids that aren't even biologically yours!"

And that earned him a fist in a jaw.

Which, if he was being perfectly honest, he knew he deserved.

He went too far. But they both did. All that was just boiling inside of them waiting for the right time to get out and now that it finally did... it didn't felt right. Damon knew he said some hurtful and wrong things to his friend, but the other man wasn't in due to him, either.

His head turned in the direction of the punch and he rubbed his jaw, trying to ease the pain. He almost saw the regret in the other man's eyes for a moment, but it was shortly dismissed.

„Don't you ever say that again!" Ric threatened him. „I raised those kids like they were my own blood and I love them more than I love anything in this world! I was more of a father to them than the lowlife that walked out on them when he got sick of playing house life! I never, in any moment of my life, thought about leaving or abandoning _my_ family, because maybe I made a wrong choice! I always stood by them anytime they needed me!"

Damon slowly raised his eyes to him.

„And when I needed you?" the tone of his voice changed. There was no anger in it anymore, only resentment and disappointment. „I don't doubt you're a good parent or your love for your family, but let me tell you, that as a friend, the last couple years, you suck! When was the last time you called me to hear how I am, Ric? When was the last time you checked on me and what I was going through? When was the last time you wished me happy birthday or try and come to see me?"

„I wish you every Christmas and New years-"

„What?!" he cut him off. „You mean those stupid cards you sent every year, that I never even bother to open up and read? You know what, call me crazy, but after everything we've been through together, I thought I at least deserve a little more respect from what you give your estranged family members and acquaintances!"

„So, what, now you're gonna cry on me for what a lousy friend I was to you?"

Damon shook his head in denial. „No. Because I don't care anymore. I got over it."

„I gave you the roof over your head and a hand when you asked me for it, and you come into my house and disrespect me like that?" Ric asked him seriously.

„I never disrespected you, Ric. And I told you that I am thankful for everything you're doing for me. But, I won't let you talk down to me, just because you don't like the path that I took in my life. I'm happy for you, I'm happy you got a family that you love and that loves you back, but just because I don't have the same, doesn't mean my life isn't worth as much as yours is."

.„It doesn't." Ric shook his head. He took a deep breath before he asked his friend the question he himself couldn't answer. „But, let me ask you this, Damon? Are _you_ happy?"


	4. Drink, Drank, Drunk

The Bennett – Saltzman family was an impressive one. It really seemed they had absolutely everything going well for them. No matter, what the bad tounges said about the age difference when they first got married, Abby and Ric sure showed them. They managed to shut everybody's mouth in town, with their absolutely perfect life, house and kids. They were an impeccable family, that just seemed to succeed more and more with every passing day. And Damon would lie if he would say, he wasn't impressed with them, too. When he returned, he thought how he was going to be the main star of Mystic Falls, but that wasn't it. Ric had a far better reputation that him. And deservingly, so. He was a loving husband, a great father and a good person. Damon never really doubted him.

But, then, what exactly was that bothered him about his best friend's perfect life?

Probably, the fact, he had none of it. All he had was his job and welfare, that was right now stored in a box somewhere collecting dust. He didn't have a family to count on to have his back on him. He had a brother, but they weren't that close, especially since they both moved out of Mystic Falls, and away from each other. They were simply too eager to get away from this town, because of all the bad memories they had here. They never lost touch, but the detachment was very much felt between them. Damon loved his little brother, there was no doubt in that, but something was missing there. And right now, Damon felt awfully alone. He screwed things up with his best friend, too. And even though, he knew, he and Ric would probably smooth things over eventually, something was just hanging over his head like a warning, that things would go south again.

He raised the glass over to his lips and swallowed the golden liquid that burned his mouth and down his throat. The glass loudly knocked against the wooden bar, and he signaled Henry to gave him another one. He couldn't get fast enough away from Ric's house, after their little fallout. Mystic Grill was the only logical place to come to.

„A bit early for that, don't you think?"

He turned over to the melodic voice, fighting against the urge to roll his eyes at the intruder. The fake smiling face of Carol Lockwood was staring back at him. She was the last person he wanted to talk to right now.

„It's past 4 p.m. The working clock is over." He said flatly and accepted his second drink from the bartender.

Carol smiled at his comment and ordered several coffee drinks for table nine. Damon turned around, to inspect who was her company and saw some of the townies situated at the said table. Logan Fell, the Mystic Falls famous news reporter, Brian Walters, the doctor, Jenna Sommers, the young psychologist and Easter Mikaleson, the 'big momma', as they called her.

_What a colorful company._

„We're having a meeting about the upcoming Spring Astronomy Week. If you're interested, you could join us." Carol told him when she noticed him looking around.

He faced her with a skeptic smile. „Thanks, but, I'm not really into astronomy."

„Neither is any of us. It's just an excuse to sit, drink and gossip around. If you change your mind, we'll be waiting for you." She said, leaning closer to him and winking.

He watched as the woman walked away from him with a smile on her face. Hanging out with a bunch of people who always trashed down anything he ever did wasn't appealing to Damon. All they ever did was badmouthing the rest of the town like they were better than them. Like he would want to listen to those hypocrites, pretending like they never killed a fly or something. Although, it was sometimes fun to hear the newest town gossip. And from the group of people sitting at the table were the absolute number one in getting those.

He hated himself for the next thing he did. Stood up and joined the group.

_._

An hour later he was sitting in the corner, a few chairs away from the others, with Carol Lockwood in his proximity. The woman was sipping white wine and giggling drunkenly, while he was only on his third bourbon. He didn't want to risk making any stupid drunk decisions. Plus, Carol was known for her affection for younger man.

„You and Alaric Saltzman were always the troublemakers." She laughed, while she was reminiscing about some prank the boys did at the Pumpkin festival, back when they were seniors in high school.

„He was a bit smarter than you, but it didn't stop him from following your every move." The words slurred from her drunk tongue.

Damon laughed. „Yeah, he never backed down from a challenge."

„Although, he did grew up and got serious, unlike you." she leaned her face to him, smiling playfully at him. „You are still the same tease, as you always were."

She was going in a certain direction, and Damon wasn't having that. The last thing he was gonna do today is to use a drunk woman.

„Well, Abby handled his wild side. I guess it just takes the right woman to do it."

Carol snorted at his comment and took a sip from her glass. „It's hard to believe that they would be that perfect couple. Especially after 'you know what'."

The emphasize on her last words were not lost on Damon. He heard them loud and clear, but he was just having trouble understanding what was the woman trying to say.

„What do you mean?" he asked her frowning.

„You know, _the thing_." She said, but when he had no reaction, she continued. „The crisis they had, awhile back."

He was blank as a piece of paper. What was she babbling about? No _thing_ came to his mind or even less a crisis. Abby and Ric were always the strongest couple he ever met. He might've not liked the way everything went down between them, but he was certain, they were made for each other.

„Don't act as if you have no idea. You're his best friend, so you surely know." Carol rolled her eyes. „I mean, I know it's sort of an unspoken subject, but everybody in town knew about it. It's not like nobody noticed. I mean, she left him, for crying out loud."

„What?" his eyes bugged out of his sockets. „What are you talking about? When was this?"

„You really don't know?" she asked him, looking at his confused face.

He really didn't know. He knew about that one time, they had a big fight and Abby actually mentioned the word divorce, but that was back at the begging of their marriage. He remembered Ric called him and he spent three full days trying to cheer his buddy up. Apparently, they were having trouble with the stories going around town. The gossiping was becoming unbearable, because of all the judgment and the age difference. It bothered Abby deeply, especially because of her kids. She was already on the tounges of townspeople, because of the father of her children and the new marriage with a 15 years younger guy was just the top of the icing. But, as far as Damon knew, those three days were the longest time the couple spent separated.

Carol leaned closer to Damon, turning her body to him, getting ready to tell him the juicy story. He wanted to stop her right then and there, because of her smug face expression, but the curiosity got the best of him.

„Well, about four years ago they had big problems. Everybody saw it. They were fighting with each other, yelling in public. He was mad all the time, and she was red-eyed from all the crying. I mean, it even affected the kids. Their grades at school suffered and they were frequently absent from classes."

„And she left him? Like really _left_?" he was shocked.

„Well, yeah. She packed her bags, took the girl and scooted out of town. She has a mother, somewhere in Georgia, I think."

„Yeah, Atlanta." He nodded.

He remembered Sheila Bennett. He had the pleasure to met the woman a couple of times and he could say with absolute certainty, she could only wish to say the same. Somehow, the woman had a gift to find him in the most unfortunate situations. But, that was a story for another time.

„Anyway, she took a sick leave from work and disappeared for, like, three or four months." Carol continued. „Nobody knew anything about her. Ric and the boy visited them a couple of times, but it was always for a short time. And when somebody asked him about it, he said Abby's mom was sick and she needed to nurse her back to health. That didn't explain why her daughter was away too, missing school."

„What exactly happened between them?"

„Nobody knows for sure. I heard it was cheating. Him, her. I don't know. Some even say, she tried to get back to Rudy, her ex, but after he rejected her, she went back to Alaric. And then, all of the sudden, everything was back to normal. But, for a while there, we all thought they were really over."

She shook her head and sipped the wine, while Damon was trying to comprehend the whole thing. He had no idea they had that big problems. Ric never said a word to him.

„She took the girl?" he asked confused, still trying to understand. „Just Bonnie? What about Marcel?"

„He stayed here, with Ric." Carol said, she frowned for a moment, but shrugged it off quickly. „That was a bit odd, but he was all grown up. Bonnie was still a minor at the time, I figured she took her because the girl had no say in it."

It seemed a bit weird to Damon, that Ric never said anything about this. True, at the time, the friendship between them was a little estranged, but they were still friends. They called each other in a crisis, no matter what. At least that's what Damon thought. He called Ric, as soon as the situation in his firm took a wrong turn, even though before that, they haven't talked in 11 months. They were best friends, they were loyal, they always had each other's back. Nothing could ever change that.

So, then, why haven't Ric picked up the phone in the biggest crisis his marriage suffered through? Maybe, he didn't see Damon the same, as Damon saw him? Maybe he was ashamed? Or maybe, the crack in their friendship was already starting to spread back then? Whatever it was, Damon knew the reason for that was nothing good.

* * *

 

* * *

The day had completely turned on him. It started great, with the prospect of having his old house back and his dear car, but it blew him off, once all the problems and issues came out. It started with Ric, and their horrible discussion, to which he felt guilty for all the things he said to his best friend. And, it proceeded with him, catching gossip bits from a giggly, flirty, drunk Carol Lockwood, which he entrusted to Logan Fell, to get her safely home. To which, the woman was obviously disappointed, but Damon could not let himself making another horrible decision.

But, he wasn't the only one who lost his footing with the way the day was going. His best friend wasn't unaffected either. Moreover, it seemed that Damon's words really stunned the man and made his frustration come out in an ugly way.

He got drunk. And it wasn't the 'funny, entertaining kind of drunk'. No, it was the angry, bitter drunk.

Damon could clearly see it, from the moment he entered the kitchen and interrupted a discussion between him and Abby. The woman was cooking dinner, and her husband abruptly closed his mouth when he saw him standing at the doorway.

„Hey, Damon." Abby said in a light tone. „You're right on time. Dinner will be in five."

„Thanks, but I think I'm gonna pass. I'm not really hungry." He said, looking at the woman, maintaining the minimal contact with the other man in the room.

„Nonsense. I made enough food for you, too." She gave him a serious look. „You're staying, Damon."

He didn't want to discuss it any further because he knew how to read the woman's look. It meant 'I don't care about the shit you and my husband have between you, but you deal with it'.

Damon passed his friend to take a seat at the kitchen table, and on his way, he felt the awful alcohol smell drifting from him. Maybe, he should just have a quiet, polite dinner with them in peace. No talking necessary.

„Hey, I'm leaving." Bonnie appeared in the doorway, dressed in navy blue lace mini dress, that hugged all her curves. „See ya later." She said quickly, already to turning to leave.

„Okay. Have fun, honey." Abby said with a smile.

„Wow, wow, wow! Wait a minute!" Ric said, with his hand extending, to stop the girl from going away. „Where do you think you're going?"

Bonnie turned to face him again, her perfect curls swiftly dancing around her pretty face.

„Out." She said quickly.

„Yeah, I can see that. But, where?" Ric asked with a slight edge in his voice.

„To a party." Bonnie said like she was reminding him of something she already said.

„Party?" Ric asked, taken aback a little. „On a weekday?"

„Yes?" Bonnie said in a question, confused.

„It's fine. I talked to her. I told her she can go." Abby put in, looking at Ric, and then directing her words to Bonnie. „It's fine, baby. Just go ahead."

Bonnie nodded, still a little surprised, looking over to Ric, watching him make a hilarious frown on his face and squinting at Abby and her.

„Why was I not informed about this party?"

„I asked mom, she said it was good with her."

„So, you just thought you can exclude me on this?" he asked bitterly.

„I didn't exclude you, Ric." Bonnie assured him. „It's just a party. Besides, I told mom, so I thought you'd be fine with it, too."

„Well, obviously, I'm not fine with it!" he raised his voice a little, speaking in a rather angry voice.

„Ric!" Abby warned him, noticing the alcohol was starting to affect the man's behavior. „I said it was okay. Bonnie, you can go." She talked in an ordering voice, probably trying to get her daughter to leave and not discuss it anymore.

„No, she can't. Not yet." Ric said quickly. „Bonnie, get in here, now."

The young woman entered the kitchen and stood in front of her stepfather with a careful expression on her face.

Damon felt out of place, right now. Like he was intruding on a very private family moment.

„Where is this party?" Ric asked.

„At Elena's." Bonnie answered.

He observed her appearance and shook his head.

„Well, you are definitely not dressed to be attending a dinner party, that's for sure." He said, angry. „What is with that outfit? You look disgusting."

It was obvious the comment hurt Bonnie, but she put on a brave face and ignored it.

„It's not a dinner party. Her parents are out of town for a couple of days, so she invited some friends over."

„Oh, really?" Ric slurred, spreading his arms. „So, the Gilberts are away, and their daughter finds the perfect opportunity to make a raging, wild, high school party in the middle of a school week? Well, I don't' think so." He said smugly, as he made his way over to the counter, taking his phone in his hand and searching the contact list.

„I'm gonna give Miranda and John a call and informed them about the activities of their daughter."

Bonnie speeded over to him, snatching the phone out of his hands and glaring disbelievable at him. „What? Com' on, Ric! Don't be _that_ _guy_!"

„And just what guy would I be?"

„The guy that tells on everything, like he doesn't have anything other to do than to keep track on high school parties and making sure nobody has fun! You know, the old, bitter guy that looks judgmentally on everything other people do, because he's too frustrated with his own crapy, boring life!"

_It was the bad day to make that comment._

Damon closed his eyes and flinched at the words Bonnie said, just feeling the anger raising in his friend, as the room stood still and silent for a moment.

Ric had his eyes straight on Bonnie, not even blinking, just watching the girl that just spat almost the same words Damon had spoken to him, a few hours ago.

„You're not going to that party, Bonnie." Ric told her in a flat tone, way too calm.

„What?"

„Go to your room, now."

„No." She said stubbornly.

„Ric, what are you doing?" Abby asked rolling her eyes at her husband's behavior.

Damon took notice of the man's clenched fists that were in line with his body, so he slowly and silently stood from his seat and walked closer to the man.

„I said: you're not going." Ric leaned closer to Bonnie's face. „And especially not in that awful dress." He looked disgustedly at her. „You look like a call girl."

„Go to hell." Bonnie said in a low tone, her voice hitching in the next thing she said. „I don't need your permission to go out! I'm 18 and you can go fuck yourself!"

„Watch that tone with me, young lady!" he yelled, raging at girl's reaction. „You may be 18, but you're still living under my roof and as long as it's like that, you do as I say!"

„I had enough of doing as you say." the girl bitterly answered. "I'm not a kid anymore, and I don't need to listen to your ordering around, acting as some boss, when you're nothing more than a drunk asshole."

„Bonnie!" Abby exclaimed, watching the girl.

There was something it that moment. Something in that look Abby directed to Bonnie. Damon noticed it, because, a moment later, the girl bowed her head and swallowed hard. When she raised her look back to her stepdad, her eyes were full of tears.

„Why are you being like this? I didn't do anything wrong!" she said hurtful, tears falling down her cheeks.

„You're disrespecting me! In my own house! And I'll be damned if I let you do what you want! You go back to your room now, Bonnie, or so help me God, I will give you a real reason to cry!"

„Do yourself a favor and go sober up, Ric," Bonnie scoffed and laughed in a mocking tone to his face. „before you humiliate yourself even more."

She started to turn around, but her stepdad grabbed her forearm and turned her abruptly, watching her with threatening eyes.

„Ric!" Abby jumped from her stand, warning the man with her tone, but still stunned with his conduct over her daughter.

Bonnie snatched her arm from Ric's hold, taking a step back from him.

„You're a dick!"

It was the last thing she said before she grabbed her purse from the counter and left the house in a hurry. Ric started to go after her, but Damon stopped him, standing in front of him and extending his hands in front of the man's chest.

„Bonnie!" Abby yelled and went after the girl, leaving the two men alone in the kitchen.

Alaric tried to bypass Damon, but he stood in front of him again, not letting him pass anywhere.

„No! No! You're staying here!"

„Get out my way, Damon!" he yelled and tried to push him away, but he didn't even budge.

„Calm yourself down, Ric!"

„Stay out of it! This doesn't concern you!" he pushed Damon on his chest angrily and just as he tried to leave the room again, Damon grabbed his shoulder and shoved him back in the kitchen. He waved a finger in front of his face, as he bruised his shoulder with a tight grip he had on him.

„You wanna fight _me_ on this? Fine!" Damon yelled at him and pushed him back. „We can do it however you want, man! We'll go outside and settle this on our own! But, if you think I am letting you go anywhere near that girl in your condition, you got another thing coming!"

Ric clenched his fist and directed it to the man's face, but Damon grabbed it with his palm and slapped him hard on his cheek with his other hand. The sandy hair man fell back with his back bumping at the kitchen counter, as he rubbed his red cheek, glaring at Damon.

„Sorry, man. But, you asked for it." He said shrugging his shoulders.

It was like a lightbulb went on Ric. His face expression changed and he stood straight, with his jaw hanging open in shock. Realization struck and he was white as paper.

„What did I do?" he whispered. „Oh, God! Bonnie!" he smacked his face with the palm of his hand, rubbing it in frustration.

Damon had no chance to answer him because Abby appeared at the door.

„Well, I hope you're happy! Your daughter just left completely out of herself and scared from just what you were trying to do! Which, to be honest, I don't think you even know yourself!"

„Abby, honey, I am so sorry! I didn't-"

„I don't want your apologies, Ric! But, you sure owe an apology to that sweet girl that just run out of the house, upset and confused, not understanding what did she do to deserve this from you!"

„I know, I screwed up-"

„She's a good girl, Ric!" Abby cut him off again. „She does everything we tell her to, she studies, she has a stellar track record at school, number of extracurricular activities! She's polite, she listens to us, she talks to us, she's everything that you as a parent would want her to be!"

„I know!"

„Then what the hell was that? Because she was absolutely right about everything she said! You were acting like a dick!"

„I don't know."

„Well, I hope you find out and you set yourself straight! Eat your good damn dinner now!" she said as she started to leave the room.

„I'm not hungry." He said.

„I said: Eat it!" she turned around and glared at him angrily. „You need something to sober you up and don't even think about getting in my bed tonight! You have the couch for yourself! I'm going to bed and I don't want to see you or hear you say another thing to me tonight! Good night!"

* * *

 

* * *

He didn't felt good about what happened tonight. First, he provoked Ric this afternoon, making the man drink his anger away, but it only did worse. And it indirectly caused an awful fight between him with his stepdaughter. The girl was completely innocent in all this. She didn't even know why she was treated the way she was, and Damon felt guilty for that.

Worst of all, he picked up the gossip about his best friend from Carol Lockwood. All that story about Abby and Ric having problems seemed odd to Damon. Something wasn't right about it. He knew Carol was often the most accurate source, but cheating? Ric wouldn't be that stupid and Abby just didn't seem the type. There was something more there, he was sure.

He was banging his head with all those questions while driving around the quiet Mystic Falls streets. It was around 1:30 a.m. and there wasn't a dog on the street. After Abby left for bed, he managed to get Ric to eat something and put him in Marcel's room to sleep. He just decided he was going to take the couch downstairs because he felt awful enough about his friend's state tonight.

He thought a drive around would help him out and maybe clear his mind a little. He turned his Camaro to the left at the intersection and came up with an unusual sight for the usually quiet town. There were cars parked all over the road and he saw a house with a bunch of young people drunkenly hanging around. It was a party. He didn't really pay much attention to it until he heard a familiar voice from across the street. He looked at the direction of it and watched with a frown on his face, the rapid girl with blond straight hair, tight pink dress on and stiletto heels.

Caroline Forbes, Bonnie's best friend.

She was angrily talking on the phone, looking around herself like a maniac, as she headed for one direction.

„Okay! I'll be there in 10 seconds! Just stay with her!"

He heard Caroline's last words, before she hung up, shoved her phone in her purse and speeded up down the street. Normally, Damon wouldn't be affected with this, but something about the girl and her behavior made him follow her. He parked the car to the side of the road and went after her by feet. He noticed she was not heading to the direction of the party, rather across the house it held it, and run behind a dark blue house that seemed abandoned. He quickened his steps and followed the blonde's moves, as he neared the house, he heard voices talking.

_„...started to yell: 'aaa hell, no! He's my boyfriend' and of course, she just left straight for the bar!"_

He heard an unfamiliar woman's voice say, along with the sound of some struggling for air.

 _„I can't believe it!"_ that was Caroline. _„It's okay, sweety. I'm here now."_ She talked in a caring voice.

Damon slowed his steps as he turned the corner of the house and saw two girls standing with their arms crossed under their chest, looking at him like he just fell from out of space, and the blonde was kneeling down behind chocolate curls and a body that looked too familiar to him.

„Bonnie?" he said, walking slowly closer to them.

„Who the hell are you?" one of the girls asked him, but he ignored them.

Caroline turned her head to look at him, and she widened her eyes in shock, but before she could say anything, the girl beside her had another rush of vomit coming out of her. The blonde soothingly patted her on the back.

„What happened?" he asked as he kneeled down to inspect Bonnie.

Her makeup was a little smeared, her eyes were closed, she smelled like alcohol and vomit, and she was completely out of it. She didn't react to anything around her, she just sat there on the ground, with her back leaned on her best friend, only bending forward to throw up.

„I-I don't know." Caroline said quickly.

„I told you, it's all Kol's fault." One of the girls that was standing there said- „His and Davina's." The other girl nodded in confirmation.

„Tasha!" Caroline interrupted her. „Thank you, but you can go now. I got her."

„Hey, I'm just trying to help, a'right?"

„I said, leave!" Caroline yelled at them.

The two girls started to leave, but not before they gave the blonde a nasty look and mumbled something about her being a bitch.

„How the hell did this happened?" Damon asked once the two girls left.

„Bonnie, hon', why did you drink this much? You know we don't that." Caroline talked caringly to the girl, ignoring Damon.

„Who's Kol?"

Caroline raised her eyes to Damon, noticing his serious face expression, already seeing where he was going with this, but she dismissed it quickly.

„No. No. Bonnie wouldn't do that." she shook her head in denial. „She wouldn't drink herself under the table because of Kol. And especially not because of Kol and Davina. She's not that dumb." She said with absolute certainty but directed the next question to the girl.

„Bonnie? Sweety? Did you got upset because of Kol?" she lightly shook her, to get an answer out of her and repeated the question, once Bonnie opened her eyes.

Bonnie waved her hand and slurred drunkenly with her eyes closed. „Please. Been there, done that."

„See?" the blonde said smugly, as she patted her friend's head.

But the answer didn't really satisfy Damon. It actually confused him even more. What did that exactly mean? _Been there, done that?_

„We should take her home." He said, observing the half awake girl.

Caroline's head snapped in his direction and shook her head. „You are not taking her _home_ like this. Are you crazy? Her parents are gonna freak! I already texted Abby from her phone, she will be sleeping at my home, so absolutely not! And I know you want to do the right thing and tell Ric about this, but you can't!"

„Okay. Fine." He said irritated. „Catch a breath, will you?"

„Okay, as in you will not say anything to Ric or?"

„I won't." He said, not taking his eyes from Bonnie. „But, I'm driving her."

„No need. I got my car with me." Caroline frowned.

„No, I'm driving her. I'll follow you."

„I got a car. And I wasn't drinking tonight. I can drive."

„And I don't really trust you right now. So, I'll take her."

He didn't wait for Caroline to say anything else. He just scooped Bonnie in his arms, his hands under her knees and back, her head falling on his chest and her hands unconsciously holding him over his neck. He carried her to his car, while Caroline followed him, as he placed Bonnie on the passenger seat. The blonde used some bottled water and tissues to clean her up, as Damon took his jacket from the back seat and covered her shoulders with it. He lowered the seat a little so she would be more comfortable.

When Caroline went to get her car, he sat behind the wheel and followed the blonde to her house.

The girl on the seat beside him was in deep sleep from the moment he set her in the car. She looked so peaceful, sleeping like she had no worry on her mind. The poor girl got herself plastered tonight, because of everything that happened with Ric. Damon was sure about that. And in a way, he also felt guilty again. She didn't deserve this. She was good and even Caroline said, it was not something they normally did.

_._

When they arrived at Caroline's house, she informed him, her mother was working a night shift at the station, so he was welcomed to carry Bonnie inside the house. She showed him the way to her room, as she went to the bathroom to change her clothes. He dropped Bonnie carefully on the bed, covering her with a blanket that was sitting at the end of it. He softly brushed her hair off her forehead, watching her eyelids stir up a little. She took a deep breath and slowly opened her eyes, squinting them and blinking, when she saw him.

„Damon?" she said with a groggy, sleepy voice. She tried to sit up in bed, but couldn't without his help. He held her arm and helped her sit up straight, while she looked around herself in confusion. „What happened?"

„I brought you to your friend's, Caroline. She's in the bathroom, getting ready for bed."

He handed her a bottle of water, that Caroline shoved in his hands ad Bonnie sipped it carefully, squinting her face at the taste. She still looked confused and lost, looking around.

„You had too much to drink. How are you feeling?" he asked, taking the bottle from her hand and disposing it on the nightstand.

„I'm a little dizzy." She said, rubbing her temple.

„Then you should lay back down." He said and lightly pushed her back in a lying position. He sat next to her, on the edge of the bed, checking her forehead.

„Why are you here? Am I dreaming" she asked, closing her eyes and enjoying the feeling of his palm on her skin. „Or am I hallucinating from the alcohol?"

He chuckled. „Neither. I was driving around and I saw your friend in the street. She looked...kind of pissed." He laughed lightly.

„Yeah, that sounds like Care." she smiled.

„Why did you drink that much?" he asked her quietly and seriously.

„I don't know." She shrugged her shoulders.

„You were upset?" he asked and she nodded. „Because of Ric?"

„Kind of." She said shortly.

„You shouldn't have done that."

„I know." she sighed.

There was silence.

Neither of them talked as they just let the quiet take over. She looked very tired, and he hoped Caroline would be quick so that he could leave and let her get some rest. Her eyes kept closing from the tiredness, but she tried to keep them open.

„You should get some sleep." He told her when he noticed she was determined to stay awake.

„I don't wanna wake up and not see you here with me." She said in a whisper.

Her words kind of shocked Damon. He stiffened a little, not feeling very comfortable anymore. He prescribed it to her drunkenness.

„You're gonna feel better in the morning." He said, not really sure of his words, knowing first handed what a bitch hangovers were.

„Damon? Do you think I look disgusting?" she asked him whispering.

He remembered Ric's comment from earlier tonight. He knew it hurt her. He could already see it when the man said it. He also knew, that her stepfather was drunk when he said it and there is no way in hell, he would say it sober.

„No, of course not." He said, shaking his head.

Her eyes raised to look him in the eyes clearly.

„Really?" she asked.

„Yeah." He nodded his head. „You're very pretty, Bonnie. Guys must be nuts about you." he said and smiled.

She smiled along with him and propped herself on her elbows so that she could be closer to him. She was looking at him, with her olive green eyes under her long thick lashes. Even though they were red and dimly from the alcohol, Damon could say with certainty, they were the pair of the prettiest eyes he'd ever seen. They had this great light in them, that pulled him in completely, something promising and comforting written in them.

„Guys like you?" she asked in a whisper. He swallowed hard and watched her lips in a complete blackout. The dim light in the room was not helping his situation. It seemed to make this moment very intimate, especially since she was so close to him. It was almost like everything else around them disappeared. It was only him and her.

She tried to lean closer, but he backed away a little stunned. Like something smacked on his head a little.

„Just close your eyes and try to sleep." he said quickly, dismissing her.

„But, how am I suppose to sleep without my goodnight kiss?" she asked him.

_Okay. She was definitely still drunk._

„Well, you just...sleep." he said, weirded out.

„Can you give me a goodnight kiss?" she raised her eyebrows in challenge.

„Oh, no. No. No." He shook his head, denying it right away, shifting and squirming in his seat. „That..No."

„Why not?" she asked pouting.

„It...That...That wouldn't be a- appropriate." He stuttered over his words.

_What the hell was wrong with him?_

Since when did he become so awkward with women? He hated the way Bonnie made him act and feel. It was uncanny. A man of his status and experience, and he stutters and blushes, when a pretty girl directs a word to him.

She chuckled sweetly, sitting up and making him back away in his place.

„A goodnight kiss is just a simple peck. It's how you kiss your grandma." she teased him.

„Bonnieee..." he sighed with a frown on his face, looking down.

„Please. I'm not gonna be able to sleep otherwise. You can't be that cruel." Her lips were pouting. And even though, she gave him that cute puppy-eyed look, there was something undeniably sexy about it.

But, really...What exactly could go wrong? A little light kiss just to satisfy her drunken wishes. Then, she would turn on her side, fall asleep instantly, and he could leave, with his conscience clear.

He shook his head and smiled.

He slowly leaned over to her, his hands lightly gripping her face, as he kissed her cheek. He didn't want to linger too long, but the softness of her skin surprised him. It was like he was pushing his lips into a sweet marshmallow, that was just calling him to bite it in and take a taste of it.

It was literally two seconds, but as he started to back away, he felt her tiny fists at the collar of his shirt, tugging him down and catching his lips in a real kiss.

Her lips wrapped around his upper lip, tugging it and sucking it in the most sweetest sensation. He felt a weird buzzing going through all of his body, as she brushed her teeth and swished her tongue all over his lips. She was rough and slightly uncoordinated. She still had alcohol in her breath, and ironically it was what sobered Damon up, instantly. No matter how good it felt, he knew he had to put a stop to it. He managed to detach himself from her mouth, grabbing her wrists in his hands and jerked her away from himself.

„Bonnie." He warned her when she tried to lean in to kiss him again. He held her around her wrists, but she was not letting him go, either. Her small fists were holding his shirt strongly, looking him straight in his eyes. It seemed unbelievable for someone in her current state, to have that much strength left in her body.

„You can't do that." He told her in a commanding, rough voice.

She frowned, backing away like she didn't hear him right and setting her hands down.

She was silent. Like she was debating on what to say or do.

She seemed surprised at his reaction, but to be honest, he was surprised at himself, too. It wasn't like him to turn down a woman who was openly giving herself to him. And there was absolutely no denial, in the fact that he was attracted to her. It was hard not to be.

_No pun intended since that little kiss send a twitching pulsation right in his pants._

But, what was worse than that, was, he didn't know how he would react if the situation was a bit different. Like if she were sober. Or if they weren't in someone else's house, with only a wall separating them from her best friend. He'd like to think, he would do the same, but unfortunately, there was this small voice in the back of his mind, teasing him, whispering him, just how much he would love to do the wrong thing.

They both heard steps coming from the hallway, and it broke down their trance. He jumped off the bed and took three steps away from it, with his back turned on Bonnie. Caroline entered the room in her pajamas, holding a mug in her hands with steam coming out of it. She frowned, watching him rub his hand over his face, but refused to say anything about it.

„She's asleep?" she asked looking over at Bonnie, who was turned on her side, her eyes shut closed. He was quite sure, she was pretending only, especially because of her sour face expression.

„I made her some herbal tea for her stomach." the blonde said as she sat down next to her friend.

He shrugged his shoulders, ignoring the other girl and started to walk out of the room.

„I'm gonna go."

„Okay. Thank-"

The blonde started to answer, but Damon was long gone before she could say the whole sentence.

„-you."


	5. Lavander's Blue

He was watching himself in the mirror, after walking out of the shower and tying a towel around his waist. His head was pounding and he was still a little dizzy, but he hoped the Aspirin he took this morning, will soon start to work out its magic. Alaric slowly turned around, still looking his reflection and run his fingers over the faded, almost invisible scar, that was high on the right side of his back, all the while thinking about everything that brought him to where he was today.

When Ric was 9 years old, The Mystic Falls Committee organized special events for revenue collections, in order to make a playground for the children. At the time, the playground was still in the works and not opened yet for the kids to run around. But, as it always was, Damon came up with the idea to sneak in and try out the park before anybody else had the chance to.

.

„ _We're not supposed to be here, Damon! What if somebody sees us?" he yelled in a whisper, as his best friend broke the fence that was meant to keep them away._

„ _We're just trying it out! Don't be a chicken, Ric!" the dark haired boy said before running off inside the forbidden part._

_._

Of course, Ric was right behind him. They ignored the big warning signs and yellow tape that surrounded the park and set out to try everything they could. In one moment of their thoughtlessness, Ric fell off the half-made monkey bars, while Damon was busy tearing up the nylon tarps that were covering up the swings. He landed on the ground with a loud thud, hitting his head in the process and making him lose control over his senses for a moment. All he could hear was the pulsating in his ears and Damon's mocking laughter in the background. Sharp pain on the side of his stomach and suddenly black spots appearing in front of his eyes. The last thing he saw was his best friend's face covered in confusion as he called his name and started to walk in his direction, right before everything went black.

The next time he woke up was in the hospital bed, with his parents beside him talking to the doctor and a nurse. As he tried to sit up, he once again felt that pain and was immediately reminded of what happened in the park. He was afraid, that his parents would be mad at him, however, they were relieved to see him awake. His mother was crying and his father was smiling with tears glistening in his eyes. Apparently, he was lucky to be alive. When he fell down from the jungle gym, he didn't notice he fell on a sharp piece of sheet metal that pierced the right side of his back, that caused severe internal bleeding and even damaged some of his organs. The doctors managed to minimize the harm, but there was one thing they couldn't save.

He was left with only one healthy kidney. The doctors were forced to remove the other one, due to the severe trauma and damage caused by the fall.

Despite all of that, the prognosis was positive and more than good. His life was pretty much normal after it. There weren't any big obstacles for him not to live like everybody else. A healthy diet and physical exercise were enough for his body to function normally. He could even smoke cigarets and drink alchocol. In reduced measures, of course. Other than that, he could do what everybody else could.

Maybe that was the main reason he became so wary and careful about everything he did. Maybe that was the reason he loved to check everything twice or why he set out ground rules for himself. However, he didn't want to think how that was the reason he settled so soon and got comfortable as a normal family guy in his hometown. No, that wasn't it.

He loved Abby. There was never a doubt in the world for that. They had a rocky road along the way, truth, but he loved to believe how those bad things only made them stronger. And he loved Bonnie and Marcel. They were good kids, no matter what the past had to say about that. They chose not to look back on the bad parts, just reflect on the good ones. Of course, that was always easier to say, than to actually do. Especially, when those bad parts seem to slip right back up in the most unexpected ways.

Because yesterday he made a mistake. A number of mistakes, if he's being honest. Too much vodka was the main one. After that everything went south. With both Abby and Bonnie. There were certain things he said, that he couldn't take back, but he wished he could, more than anything. For a brief moment there he was reminded of all the bad stuff they all went through. He hated himself for that. They were the most important people in his life and he couldn't bare the thought of hurting either of them.

.

„ _You suck at dancing." A whining 11-year-old Bonnie looked up at him, while they were trying to move accordingly with the music in her school gym, a big banner hanging over their heads in written: Father Daughter Dance Event._

„ _Yeah, I know. We'll just sway, okay? Nobody will notice." He said shortly._

„ _Everyone will notice. I'm the best dancer in my group." She shook her little head, reminding him of her dancing skills she learned over in Ballet school._

„ _So, you want me to leave?" he asked stopping his movements and looking down on her._

_She shrugged her shoulders and stepped back to continue to sway with him. She leaned her head down on his chest and whispered softly._

„ _No, you can stay."_

_._

„ _No! I hate you!" a hysterically crying 14-year-old Bonnie was looking at him, trying to step back from him, as he advanced at her._

„ _Bonnie, honey... no...Don't...don't say that." He begged her, trying to hold her in his arms, but she pushed him away from herself, screaming and fighting._

„ _No! You're not my father! I hate you! I hate you! I hate youuuu!"_

_._

„ _Can I trust you with this?" he asked her genuinely concerned, holding the car keys of the new Prius in front of a 16-year-old girl with green eyes and a soft, honest smile. She took a deep breath before nodding and answering him._

„ _You can. Just like I can trust you." She said, her lips spreading wider and turning into a melodic laugh, as he handed her over the keys and she hugged him tightly._

_._

When they got married, Ric and Abby vowed to love and protect each other for better and for worse, but also to love and protect their family. Even though there weren't any possibilities for them to have their own kids, it never stopped them to make a perfect family from what they had. There were struggles, especially, for Abby, who, at the age of 23, moved all her life to Mystic Falls, because of her boyfriend Rudy, who made her a mother of two kids and then one day just packed his bags and left her alone to raise them. The bad tounges of the town were always ready to make her seem the bad guy. Her relationship with Ric only increased the amounts of badmouthing.

Despite all of that, Ric knew what he had to do. He had to step into his big boy shoes, be a good husband and take responsibility for not one, but two young lives and mold them into good and smart people. He did a good job. He was quite sure of that. With Marcel, there was never a doubt. However, with Bonnie, there were a few setbacks, huge ones, ones who sometimes even seemed beyond reparable, ones that almost crushed everything he and Abby tried to build all those years. Their perfect family. Gone with only one blow.

.

„ _This is all my fault." He could hear Abby's crying voice, as she sat down in her mother's kitchen, her body tired and worn out. „I did this. I made this happen to us."_

„ _No...Abby. You haven't done anything wrong. I'm the one to blame. Me." He said to her as he knelt in front of her and took her in his embrace, patting her thick, long hair, while her tears drenched his shirt. „But, I will make it right. I promise. I'll get our family back."_

_._

There was a big, heavy weight that they all carried around, but he and Bonnie probably carried the most of it. Alaric thought they were never gonna be able to forget and forgive, to move past all those bad stuff and get back to the harmony and peace from before. But they did. And there were moments, months, years where everything was back to normal, where they repaired their scares and became a real family again. Until, just one moment or even one word made them remember and brought all that bitterness and resentment rushing in back, making it clear they were still too fresh and too vulnerable for completely move passed it.

That was the reason why he felt such protectiveness over Bonnie. He wanted so badly to fix everything up and he was in a such a hurry to do it, that he forgot to ask her how she felt about it. There were moments where he knew she was okay, where she respected him and loved him like a father, where she forgot about all of it. But, then, there were moments, where she had that look, that said, she would never forget, she would never be fine with it, and she would never forgive. Those were the hardest moments of his life. Realizing how much he failed his family, the people he loved like nothing else in the world. The family was easy to make, but it was hard to maintain.

Like that wasn't enough, there was one more person who he had to face and apologize. The same person who he wanted to blame on his drunk episode last night and the same person who was right by his side when he fell off those monkey bars. Damon.

He remembered how his parents tried to forbid him and Damon to be friends again, after the accident, but it was short lived. They were, too, very fond of the boy, as much of a trouble he was. Nobody could ever separate them. He and Damon were bonded.

But, his return home was backing Ric into a corner. Whenever he wanted peace and order, he could trust Damon to bring disturbance and riot. But, it wasn't evil-minded, far from it. Damon was like that devil on his shoulder telling him to _do this, or do that, fuck all the consequences, just take what you want._ But, he was also the reason why he enjoyed life, why he had stories to tell and also why he was who he was. He hasn't had that person beside him ever since he and Abby got married. He missed that person, but he was also relieved in a way, that he hadn't been around. Damon knew how to raise complete honesty out of him. No matter how bitter, awful or painful it was. And for him and his family, it was all of the above.

* * *

Damon couldn't sleep all night. He just kept tossing and turning, while his thoughts were running back to what happened at Forbes's family house. Specifically, in Caroline's room. He couldn't get his mind back on track remembering the sweet feeling of Bonnie's lips.

However bad he felt yesterday, today it was 10 times worse.

He practically took advantage of a drunken, teenage girl. What was even more awful, she was the stepdaughter of his best friend.

What the hell was wrong with him?

Why would he kiss that girl?

Okay, technically, she kissed him, but that definitely wouldn't matter to Ric if he found out about it. He would beat the crap out of him. And, maybe that was exactly what he needed. Maybe, he needed to beat it out of him. Maybe, after, he will be free of flashes with delicate lips, playful teeth, and mesmerizing green eyes.

„Good morning, Damon." Abby interrupted his thoughts, greeting him as she checked herself in the mirror and tied a scarf around her neck.

He didn't even notice until now, he was still standing in the downstairs hallway, dressed in his last night's clothes. He started to go to the bathroom, but he got distracted with his guilt.

He just nodded tightly to the woman.

Abby turned to him and looked him in the eyes.

„I know what you did last night." She said seriously.

_Crap._

He swallowed a lump in his throat, but no matter how hard he tried to say something, no words were coming out of his mouth.

„You shouldn't have done it."

He knew it was wrong. He knew he shouldn't have. But, it felt so God damn good.

_Shut up, brain._

„But, it was very nice of you." Abby's face lighted up with a little smile.

_Oh, yeah, it really was nice._

_Wait, what?_

„I mean, I don't really understand why you would give your bed to your drunk, stupid friend that only insulted you yesterday..." the woman continued. "But I guess, that just makes you a really good friend. And, if he isn't going to say it then I will. Thank you."

Of course, she was talking about Ric and the fact how he gave him his/Marcel's room, while he lied wide awake in the downstairs study. He used two armchairs that he moved together to a makeshift bed. It's not like he needed anything better. Or deserved, for that matter.

„No problem." He said shortly. „Is he still asleep?" he asked, looking upstairs, knowing there will have to come a time to face his best friend.

„No, he left already. He had an early class." She smiled. „I'm about to head out, too." she said as she walked pass by him and took her purse along with her cellphone and keys. „You got any plans for today?"

He shrugged. „Not sure. I'm sure I'll find something."

„Okay. See ya." She greeted him with a sincere smile, before walking out of the house.

* * *

As the house was empty, he had the time to use it for developing a plan. He needed one. He was stepping into dangerous waters around here. Lovely as it was, the discretion last night was unforgivable. Bonnie was a gorgeous young woman, and with them, Damon usually didn't have problems. And there was a certain energy that sort of flew between them. He would lie if he said there wasn't. She was vibrant, specific and very real. He couldn't deny her existence and his awareness of her beauty and appeal. But, that still couldn't change the fact she was Ric's stepdaughter and she was inebriated last night. He had no excuses. He would feel less guilty if he took advantage of a drunk Carol Lockwood.

So, after his shower and a nice change of clean clothes he was ready to face the world, with a brand new plan. It was simple. He was going to avoid Bonnie for the rest of the day. And hopefully for the next couple of days, so that things can calm down and it all of it could be forgotten. It was a great plan, he just had to stick by it.

However, the universe had different plans for him.

A loud thud of the door cut off his thoughts, as he raised his view and was confronted with the one person he wanted to avoid. For a moment, he thought he was imagining things.

Bonnie exited her room, stepping into the hallway, where he was standing, freshly showered and dressed.

Damon's eyes involuntarily scanned her body, appreciating every beautiful part of it. Her brilliant shiny eyes, her hair a mess of chocolate curls, her perfect breasts, flat stomach and toned legs. He hated the growl he almost produced at the sight of her. Worst of all, she seemed so sinful, dressed in her dark red cheerleader uniform and pompoms in her hands. That wasn't going to help to avoid the dirty envisions he had about her.

He stood frozen in his stand, eyes wide like a deer caught in headlights, while she was busy typing hurriedly on her phone.

What was he gonna say now?

„Heeey." He said slowly stretching out the word.

 _This is going to be awkward_.

She raised her eyes to him from her phone, just for a moment, before greeting him shortly.

„Hi."

And got back to her phone, busily typing something on it.

He was watching her carefully, thinking how she looked too good for somebody who was trying to recuperate from a nasty hangover. But, all the signs of last night's bad episode vanished. She didn't look tired, there were no bags under her eyes, her hair seemed clean and she smelled flowery, like cherry blossom.

She tucked her phone in her bag and started to leave, without another glance at him.

„Are you okay?" he asked her before she managed to run away. „You feeling alright?" he asked genuinely concerned, which made her smile with a hint of surprise in her eyes.

„Yeah." She nodded. „All good."

He watched her with a frown on his face, feeling a weird vibe from her. Why was she acting like everything was perfectly fine?

_Probably covering her real emotions._

Poor girl. She must be feeling embarrassed in front of him.

She looked confused to the side. „I gotta go. Got cheerleading practice." She tried to walk away again, but he stopped her, this time stepping in front of her.

„Wait. Maybe we should talk." He said seriously, tossing away all his plan to simply avoid her and this conversation. Why the hell was he insisting on it, if she seemed fine with simply leaving it aside?

Her eyebrows rose in her hairline. „About?" she asked confused.

Okay. She was really good at this covering stuff. Damon could give her that.

„You know. Last night..." he started.

She finally looked like she knew what he was talking about.

„Oh, right."

He nodded understandingly, just waiting for it to unravel. In his thoughts, there were a couple of scenarios that could happen. She could apologize for her behavior and say even though it was the absolutely best kiss she ever received in her life, they should move on and never speak of it again. They would only remember it somewhere deep in their old age and occasionally in a long shower. Or she could bring all her defenses down and throw herself on him, begging him to take her body and giving him the ultimate gift of all, her virginity. And he wouldn't have the heart to say no to her, as they would fall down on her bed, sparks flying away along with their clothes and the sound of her moans as she would receive the greatest pleasure of her life.

He shook his head in shock, trying to get his mind back on track. Those thoughts were definitely not helping the situation in hand. He focused on the girl in front of him, listening carefully her words.

„It's all good. But, if you don't mind, I would rather straighten things with Ric personally. After all, this is between us."

He blinked.

_Ric?_

Blink.

_What?_

Blink.

„Wha-?"

„Anyway, I'm going now." She cut him off.

„But thanks." She patted his shoulder.

„Bye." She walked pass by him with the coolest face he'd ever seen.

He blinked again.

_What the hell just happened?_

How could she be that cold to him, after all that happened? She didn't even have the courtesy to mention how their lips met in a blissful, most sensational moment they ever shared. She just ignored it. If he didn't know any better, he would say she didn't remember.

_Oooooh._

Yeah, okay, so that was probably a big possibility. She was, after all, drunk off her ass. She wouldn't remember what she did or said to him. It seemed she didn't even remember seeing him last night. Which was...good. Because he was free of any awkward confrontations or shameful looks.

_She didn't remember._

That was great. Just great. Absolutely awesome.

_Crap._

If it was so absolutely awesome then why did he feel so horrible? And mad? And frustrated?

Why did he want to run into his room, drop himself on the bed and bury his face in his pillow, to muffle his screams? Why did he all of the sudden felt violated and used? Like a teenage girl who lost her virginity to the high school stud and when he actually got what he wanted, he acted like a complete jackass and forgot to call her, even though he promised he would?

And now he was overreacting. He was not some teenage girl. And Bonnie definitely wasn't the stud. He was the stud. He was a man. Time to act like that, damn it.

He turned around, run downstairs and got the hell out of the house. It was time to get some beating on the way.

* * *

_Next morning..._

Bum!

Bum!

Bum!

It was like music to his ears. How satisfying it was to listen to the sounds of loud banging, echoing in his head and getting rid of any frustration out of him.

The hammer in his hand was the resolution to anything that has happened over the past few years. He knocked a number of nails against wood and metal, and every time it was like a song soothing his tired body and mind.

And he was tired like hell. He could feel the soreness in his muscles and the blisters in his palms and fingers. The bags under his eyes were so puffed he could practically see them from his blue orbs. He was sweaty and dirty from all the dust and filth, it made his t-shirt cling tightly to his body.

Guess that's what working all night on your neglected old house does to you.

He came to the Salvatore boarding house last night, rummaging through the garage in look for tools and anything he could use to beat something around. He kept hammering all night, despite the fact he had constructors coming next week to make the house safe for living.

It helped with his anger issues, which to be honest, he had a lot. Starting from his father and his selfish business. As much as Damon wanted to deny it, he knew in some level Ric was right about him. He got so ambitious at one point, it didn't matter to him what he had to do, to get what he wanted.

The end crowns the work.

That's what they say. Worst of all, that's what his father would say.

His goal was to get successful on his own, free of the Salvatore name and what it stood for. The only way he could do that was to do it somewhere nobody knew him. And he did. He managed. He succeeded.

„ _Congratulations, Damon!"_

„ _You showed us all!"_

The words echoed in his head, as he tried to beat them out of there, but it couldn't help much. Because, yes. He did show them all. Anybody that ever tried to convince him he would never make it.

They stared judgmentally at all the gifts he brought for himself and his brother when he turned 18 and inherited the family money. Because they thought he was the same as Giuseppe. They thought he would spend all the money that he never earned and never deserved.

Damon knew he didn't deserve it. It was always a hurtful reminder in the back of his head, that all the money he had at disposal was dirty. And dishonorable.

But he also knew what everybody was aware of, too, but they chose to ignore. He and Stefan went through hell in their childhood. It was very known Giuseppe was prone to beating his wife and children, but nobody ever talked about it. They just watched them with sideway looks and judged.

He used his father's money to buy himself and his brother cars, paid for their education and left Stefan a nice amount of savings until he was legally adult to do what he wanted with it.

He bought himself a one-way ticket to NY and with only 50 dollars in his pocket, went away and succeeded by himself. The rest of Giuseppe's money he gave to charities. He thought it was a nice and ironic way for getting rid of all the bad stuff his father had brought to them.

However, his mother was an entirely different story from his father. He loved his mother. Adored her. She was the only light in his dark childhood, that he always wanted to protect. And he did. When he turned 12, Damon was brave enough to take the beating for her. And his brother, too.

He would always provoke Giuseppe so hard that he would forget what or who he was mad in the first place. He remembers when he was 14, his father used a snow shovel on his back because he found a mess of broken glass and torn books in the study. At first, Damon thought it was Stefan's fault, that he probably did it while playing there.

But, after his father got tired of the punishment, he left him alone on the ground in the backyard. He didn't remember when did it happen or how long he was lying there. He just remembered soft hands rubbing him affectionately, and the cold feeling of the ice compress against his burning skin.

.

_Lavender's blue, dilly, dilly,_

_Lavender's green_

_When you are King, dilly dilly,_

_I shall be Queen_

_Lavender's green, dilly, dilly,_

_Lavender's blue_

_You must love me, dilly, dilly_

_'cause I love you._

.

His mother's sweet voice, singing him a quiet song to soothe his sobs and pain. He knew instantly, it was her, who smashed father's study that day. She never told him why and he never asked, but he thought it was years of frustration building up and she just exploded at the first thing she saw.

Needless to say, it was her last fallout. After that, she became even quieter and obedient to her violent husband.

And while she was alive, she was his favorite person in the world. He adored her. He never blamed her for anything. She was in the same situation, as he was.

Then after her death, everything changed. He changed. He started to hate her. And that hate grew, even more, and stronger than the hate he felt for his father.

Stefan never understood it. He kept loving her and respecting her, despite all. He always stopped him from badmouthing their mother and the memory to her in his presence. He probably couldn't listen to it, because somewhere in the back of his mind he knew Damon was right. He just never wanted to admit it.

He said that if they keep living with that much hatred in their hearts, they would never be able to sleep peacefully at night. So, it was better to just let go.

Damon didn't know if he actually let it go or if he just buried it so deep inside, that every time he would hear their parents mentioned, he would stay indifferent. Sometimes, it would be so cold and apathetic, it would earn him weird eyeing and awkward commenting.

But, he didn't care. They were dead and to Damon, nothing else mattered. As long as they were six feet under, they both couldn't hurt him, anymore.

Last night, he fell asleep somewhere between replacing the shelves in Stefan's room and repainting the downstairs hallway. Of course, bourbon was involved in all of it, so the temporary amnesia was not a surprise. When he woke up he saw 4 missed calls and 2 texts from Ric.

He left without a word last night and the man was probably wondering if he was still mad at him. He wasn't planning on doing anything this morning, but the thought of Ric instantly turned into a thought of his stepdaughter.

Bonnie made her way in his mind occasionally last night, too, but he did his best to ignore it. And this morning, she was doing the same. It just wouldn't stop bugging him, how unaffected she was with him and how affected he was with her.

It was uncanny. He knew it was the best for things to stay as they were for now, but he couldn't help but, to be bothered and even mad, nothing has changed. So, while he was in the kitchen looking for something to use so he could make coffee that he 'borrowed' from the Saltzman – Bennett's house, he noticed how loosened the cabinets were.

So, without a thought, he grabbed a hammer, a screwdriver, and a few nails and begin with the beating again. He knew it was a new rush of therapy for the 18-year-old girl that kept invading his mind, but he welcomed it. He focused so hard on the task, that not one thought crossed his mind again.

It was just, the cabinets, nails, and hammer. And him.

Bang!

Bang!

Bang!

By the time he got to the fifth cabinet he was working on automatic. He never heard the car parking outside at the driveway or opening the front door. Or the steps tapping against the sticky wooden floor. So, naturally when a sweet, honey dripping, voice filled his ears he was in such shock, he dropped the hammer straight on the floor.

„I love it when a man knows his way around with his tools."


	6. She used to be mine

 

Bonnie Bennett – Saltzman was a good girl. In _almost_ every aspect of her current life, she had done things her parents expected of her.

She was a good daughter, a good student, a good citizen.

She had straight A's and a big circle of friends around her. She was co-captain of the cheerleading squad, she volunteered at a variety of the Mystic Falls events and even at the retirement center in Richmond. And she was generally a good person. Always ready to help anybody in trouble, an honest friend, and absolutely perfect daughter.

She loved her life. She loved her family. Her brother Marcel was her main support through anything she ever needed. Her mother Abby was her number one role model. The woman was strong, confident and successful in her career. Bonnie was absolutely proud of her.

However, the biggest surprise for her was her stepfather. When her mother first brought the young man home, she would never in her right mind thought he would be staying for a long time. Alaric Saltzman married her mother at the age of only 22 and automatically became her guardian. For an 8-year-old Bonnie at the time, it was hard to adjust, but with time she had learned to trust Ric more and more every day. He had become her support, friend, and guidance through life. Nothing was ever too hard for him. She felt safe and loved, something she hadn't felt with her real father, ever.

Rudy walked out on them when Bonnie was 3 years old, so she doesn't even remember him that well. He was never married to her mother, so it was easy to just pick up his things and leave. He disappeared from their lives and they never heard of him again.

Alaric was different. He was good to her and Marcel, he understood them and always had time for them. Most of all, he made their mother happy. Despite the age difference, Ric outgrew the title of the stepfather and got even further than that.

Bonnie and Marcel considered him a real and fundamental part of their family. She was grateful to have him in her life and even though they didn't share the same blood, he always treated them like they were his own. They were his pride and joy and he showed that to everybody.

Ric and Abby were the perfect team and they always managed to give their family everything they needed. Their relationship wasn't the easiest and there were a lot of people who they wanted to prove to the righteousness of their decision to be together. Of course, that had a price. Bonnie and Marcel were supposed to follow their parent's rules and footsteps and make sure they never cross the limits that were defined for them.

Marcel graduated from Whitmore last spring. He majored in African American Studies but didn't choose that path. He applied to the Police Academy a few months ago and shocked the family with it. It took some time for everybody to adjust to it, but after they did, Ric and Abby took only pride in it. He was, after all, doing something for the community, and he chose a selfless path to help others. He was still their perfect son.

As for their perfect daughter, Bonnie was the epitome of it. In their eyes, she did everything right, and it was absolutely impossible for her to make a mistake anymore. She did all they ever asked from her. She took school seriously, had plenty of extracurricular activities and joined in any of the town's organizations. She had a great future ahead of herself.

In the eyes of her parents, Bonnie Bennett – Saltzman was a good girl.

Except, it wasn't always like that.

There was a time when neither Ric nor Abby knew what to do with her. How exactly to deal with the problematic girl that somehow, all of the sudden raised from a fourteen-year-old Bonnie, was something they were both struggling with. And each of them had a different plan, which was the main reason for the couple's fallout. It was simply too sensitive and too hurtful for the both of them, as for the entire family. For a moment there, it seemed the end of the great Bennet – Saltzman team was near. And it was all Bonnie's fault.

She messed things so badly, that one night, her mother woke her up and practically shoved her in the car, driving them both far away from Mystic Falls. As she explained, it was for Bonnie's own good. She had to straighten herself up, realize her mistakes and solve all her problems so that she could continue her life the way she intended.

But, it was harder than it sounded. Especially for a fourteen-year-old. She never understood why was she so unfairly punished. Why were her parents in such a hurry to cover everything up and why they wanted to make her forget all as soon as possible? She was never allowed to ask questions. They all just made a silent pact never to speak of it again. It was something forgotten. Something erased from all of their minds.

So, she shut up and moved on. Because she had to. They all had to. But, it was never the same. And as much as Bonnie was good at pretending, she could never fully forget. And especially, forgive. Nobody ever asked her forgiveness, because nobody thought she had the right to ask for it. It was, after all, her fault.

Even though her view of things was different from the rest of them, she played along. The only thing that kept pushing her further, was that someday, somehow, she would get closure so that she could live her life the way she wanted.

She continued her life, the way Abby and Ric wanted from her. Like nothing ever happened. She was once again their perfect little daughter that did everything right and was just incapable of making mistakes. She was good, loyal and responsible. She never showed any resentment or anger towards them, and she learned how to make them trust her fully again. The only problem was, she never fully trusted them.

But, what parents didn't know, couldn't hurt them.

And there was a lot her parents didn't know about her.

The truth of the matter, Bonnie wasn't as innocent as her parents thought she was. She had different plans and expectations from her life. Especially, regarding college. To her, it would be a nightmare to attend Whitmore. Aside from the fact, that her mother worked there, the college was literally 45 minutes away from Mystic Falls. She could already imagine, what that would be like. She would be under 24 hours supervision, by her parents.

Now, Abby wasn't all that bad, because the woman actually respected her privacy, but Ric? No, the word privacy didn't exist in his vocabulary. He had to know when, where, with who and why was she stepping out of the house.

Every time.

So, Bonnie always had to have a good reason for everything.

And, she had.

Cheerleading practice, organization community with Mrs. Lockwood, volunteering at the retirement center in Richmond, study sessions with her friends. She always kept herself busy, even though half of the time she spent out of the house was used for entirely different things.

Bonnie and Caroline Forbes, her best friend, weren't as innocent as everybody thought. They were popular. And with popularity came a certain reputation. They were the life of every party, dance or event. If Bonnie and Caroline weren't coming to your party, nobody else would either.

And they were crafty as hell. Running the cheerleading squad was a way to make sure everybody followed their lead. They were the queens of school, where everyone wanted to either be like them or be friends with them.

And joining the town's organization comity was the best thing they ever were done. It gave them accesses to a variety of things, like town archives, town's history and best of all, free alcohol. Carol Lockwood was the president of the comity and with her tendency to alcohol and young paramours, she was the easiest thing to mess with.

Just last month, the comity had a shortage of the money in the cash register and missing bottles from the stock. Carol was the only one who had the keys of both, so it would only be a matter of time when the rest would notice the mix up with the numbers and blame her on it.

Caroline and Bonnie were nice enough to help the woman cover up the mix-up, with Carol actually reaching over to her own deep pocket full of money and supply the shortage herself. The supplies were restocked and the cash register was on zero. It was back running properly. Nobody ever noticed anything. And the two best friends renewed their closets and climbed up higher on the social scale by bringing only the finest alchocol to local home parties.

But, playing with the minds of elders was not always the easiest task. It required time, expenses and secret allies that were always looking for something in return. And as high school seniors, it was hard to keep that up.

Bonnie and Caroline weren't the empty-headed dolls that thought their lives are going to reach their peaks in high school. They were smart and sharp. They had big plans for their future and that's mainly the reason why they always put school first. And being good at school, having a great track record with only praises coming their way, was the smartest move to keep their parents in believing how everything they were doing till now, was working and there was no need for change. All they really needed was to have each other's back at all time, and for the kind of friends Caroline and Bonnie were, that was never a problem.

* * *

When she first heard Ric's childhood friend was coming to stay with them for some amount of time, Bonnie was secretly thrilled. She knew her stepfather would be busy with his friend and it would give her the chance to use her free time like she wanted. It was the perfect opportunity for her to spend as much time she could around her friends and manage to have more fun, freely.

But, Damon Salvatore wasn't anything she ever expected. She thought that the man her stepfather announced was just another carbon copy of Alaric.

Oh, boy was she wrong.

The first night she met him, she was struck with a sight of a beautiful handsome man with light blue eyes and dark hair. She cursed herself for not wearing any makeup, aside from the lipgloss, even though it seemed stupid.

Why would she want to impress the guy?

Yes, he was hot, but he was older and her stepdad's friend, so she knew he was absolutely out of the question. But, something weird happened when she shook his hand. His expression was weirded out and he let go of her hand almost medially.

She didn't know how to exactly interpret his reaction, so she just dismissed it.

But, all through the dinner, she couldn't take her eyes from him. Fortunately, he was sitting across from her, so it didn't seem strange her eyes were on him most of the time. She shut down from Ric and his narratives and focused on reading this man out.

There was something that intrigued her about him. He was absolutely gorgeous, and it seemed he had a trouble keeping his look off of her, too. He struggled all through the dinner to give his complete attention to Ric, but every now and then his eyes would find hers.

And she would melt when that happened. Maybe it was because of the blue in his eyes, or because of his handsome face, but she enjoyed those short seconds when he would cast a look in her way.

Of course, Bonnie knew there was absolutely no way, that he would ever think of her in a certain way. Besides, it was even ridiculous to think of that, considering he was Alaric's friend. So, she just decided to forget and suppress that kind of thoughts.

Unfortunately, that wasn't possible for a very long time. There was this small lingering moment the next morning where he secretly offered her coffee. Despite the fact, Ric had already told her no, like he always did. He didn't think it was appropriate for her health to drink the strong caffeine filled drinks. That's why every morning, Abby made her the healthy distastefull beverages, that she would spill at the rose garden, the moment she would step out of the house.

„That man is absolutely gorgeous!" Caroline shrieked, as they drove to school that day. She laughed at her best friend's joy. It was always entertaining how the blonde got super excited when new men came into town.

„Oh my God! He's like some Greek God or something! I mean, did you see that face? And those hands? Uhh!"

„Okay, Care. Take it down a notch!" she said flatly.

„Common, Bonnie!" the blonde yelled excitedly. „You can't deny that Damon Salvatore is an absolute hunk!"

„Do people even say 'hunk' anymore?" she teased.

„Oh, I do! And he is a _hunk_!"

„Whatever." She sighed and started fiddling with the radio. „I didn't look that hard like you did."

The blonde scoffed „You are so full of it!"

„What are you talking about?"

„You think I didn't notice those secret looks and faces you were making at him?" Caroline rolled her eyes. „Oh, and the coffee thing?! Ph-lease! That was some serious shameless flirting going on there! And I front of your parents, no less!"

„Care, you're crazy!" Bonnie laughed.

„Shut up, you little minx! I know you! Plus, I saw the way he looked at you."

„Okay, now you just making stuff up." Bonnie rolled her eyes.

„Yeah, right. You can play cool as much as you like, but that guy was totally ogling you and he was enjoying what he was seeing."

„Whatever."

Of course, no matter how much she actually tried to deny it, the words her best friend said, kept making an appearance. Along with the sight of the handsome man in her mind. Dressed in black pajama bottoms, and a gray t-shirt, that clung tightly to his muscled arms. His eyes, their icy blue color sparkling under his dark, rustled hair.

She couldn't seem to focus on her school work or anything else. It just kept creeping in.

The eyes, the hair, the smirk, the body.

Ah, yes, the body. That sharp, pale skin and muscles sculptured into a masterpiece. Wide shoulders, firm chest, and abdomen. He was the kind of guy every girl's head would turn for. And girls don't turn their heads just for anybody. But, he was certainly making her head spin. So, much, in fact, the first night he spent at the house, she heard him walking down the hallway and used the opportunity to sneak out of her room and observed him from afar, without him noticing her.

And the really curious thing about him was exactly his reaction on her. Maybe she misread the whole coffee thing, but the day before was something that wondered her. The handshake, the dinner, the looks, it all seemed to have left an impression on Damon. And she was a little nasty, playing with his nerves, talking about the age difference, teasing him with a little sexy eye here and a teasing smile there.

It freaked him out, she was quite sure of it, but she loved to do that. It was her trademark. She loved to mess with people, especially men. She knew how to provoke a reaction from them. Not sound too vain, but she was fully aware of her looks and she knocked it with a certain amount of confidence and modesty, just enough to mix it up. But even though it was fun to play with the thought, to just daydream about her actually crossing the line, it was all that it was. Just in her head.

* * *

Secrets and lies were a part of Bonnie's life. Nothing about her was an opened book. The philosophy was; never let anyone too close, or they might just see how damaged you really are. A few people already had an insight. Caroline was her best friend, who she met in the first grade and since then they were inseparable. Caroline was the sheriff's daughter, so there were a lot of expectations from her, too. There wasn't anything about Bonnie, that her best friend didn't know about.

„If I tell you something, you promise not to say a word to another living soul?" She asked Caroline after their cheerleading practice, the day she received that gift card from Damon.

Truth to be told, if he had chosen any other moment, any other day, besides that one, she might've been a little more thankful to him. It wasn't a bad gift. She was given worst gifts before. But, he caught her just as she was leaving her parents room in search for Abby's blue scarf that she loved to borrow. Unfortunately, what she actually found, made her head spin and blood boil with fury.

„Who would I tell?" the blonde asked with a bored look on her face.

Stupid question, really. If there was anybody who she trusted more than herself, it was Caroline.

„Okay." She opened her backpack and took her phone out, looking for something on it, before showing it to her friend. Caroline took the phone in her hands and looked at it. A frown appeared on the blonde's face as she raised her eyes back to her best friend.

„It's a check for The Department of Education." Bonnie explained.

„I can see that. But why exactly am I looking at it?"

„Ric applied to it, to get his Ph.D. so that he could work as a University Professor."

„Okay, so he's advancing in his job." The blue-eyed girl shrugged.

„And I heard that the Whitmore University is looking for new professors for the next academic year." Bonnie said with an edge in her voice.

„Okay." Caroline said as she handed the phone back to Bonnie. Her eyes widened when she understood what Bonnie was saying. „No. No. No way. Are you sure about it?"

„Yes. Elena's boyfriend Liam and his friend Dave told me that the other night."

„Oh my...- Wait. You were with them? When?" the blonde frowned.

„Yeah, Elena called me that Dave wanted to meet me. It was last week, I think." Bonnie said flatly.

„You didn't tell me." Caroline whined.

„If there was anything to tell, you know I would."

„Yeah, but still." Caroline rolled her eyes and then smiled playfully. „College guys. So, how did it go?"

„Disinteresting. Except for that piece of information." Bonnie sad trying to get the conversation back on track. „What am I gonna do, Care?"

The cheer captain sighed heavily, watching her nervous friend. „Well, have you tried talking to Ric?"

„No. He didn't even have the decency to tell me about his Ph.D."

„He might not get accepted to Whitmore." Caroline tried to reason.

„Please. Abby's gonna pull out all the strings she has."

And that was the absolute truth.

„Okay, but, seriously? Why do you even care?"

„He's doing it because of me." Bonnie frowned. „He wants to be near me all the time so that he can watch my every move like a hawk."

„Again, I ask: Why do you care?" Caroline tried to emphasize her words. „You're not going to Whitmore. Neither of the two us is."

„But they don't know that."

„They know you applied to other schools."

„Yeah, but they think I did it just because. As far as they're concerned, my fate was sealed when I was born. Whitmore was my only possible future."

„Then you need to talk to them. Tell them the truth." The blonde told her. „You only have a couple of more months, anyway, and the more you wait, it's only gonna get worse."

„I know. I know. I'm just so mad. They weren't even planning on telling me about this. They just can't stop themselves from trying to control my life! Especially Ric." She answered, shoving the phone and rest of her stuff in her backpack angrily.

„Hey, ladies! Looking sharp, as always."

Bonnie and Caroline both rolled their eyes at the sound of the voice. They expected this to happen. Somebody was bound to approach them from the group of guys that were watching the cheerleading practice from the seats. Especially, after the piece of gossip that came from Melissa Hartman's mouth this morning.

They turned to the tall, rail-thin guy with spiky dark hair and brown eyes. He had a wicked smile on his face, shamelessly observing them head to toe, as always.

„What do you want, Diego?" Caroline asked, crossing her arms over her chest, looking bored.

Diego's smile widened as he showed all of his teeth and made that disgusting flirty face at them. Bonnie was beyond annoyed with him. He was the main gofer for Kol Mikaelson and his stupid wide group of cool dudes, who never did anything productive and just smoked pot under the school bleachers.

„Just wanted to say 'hi' to the two prettiest girls in school."

„Hi! Bye!" the blonde said with a snarky smile and waved her hand to him. She grabbed her bag from the bench and signaled Bonnie to get out of there.

„Where's the fire? You can't spare a few words with a friend?" he tried to stop them.

„You're not our friend, Diego." Caroline told him bitterly and then faced her friend beside her. „Com'on, Bon."

It was not a secret that Caroline was more eager to get away from there and Bonnie knew that very well.

„Okay, so I guess I'll see you ladies at tomorrow night's party?"

„You mean, Elena Gilbert's party?" the blonde frowned. „How do you even know about that? You're not invited."

„Of course I'm invited. The whole school is invited."

„Yeah, except for the lowlifes that only waste their time and the time of others by simply existing in their lame ass pathetic form." She squinted her eyes in a threatening matter. „That would be you, Diego."

„You were always mean to me, Forbes." He diverted his eyes to Bonnie. „Luckily, I'm here for your much nicer friend."

„I got nothing to say to you." Bonnie cut him off, quickly.

„I just want to relay a message." he smiled widely. „My buddy Kol sends his love and he asked me to tell you to save him a dance, tomorrow night."

„As if." Caroline scoffed before Bonnie could even think about how to answer to it. „Tell Kol he must've hit his head hard if he thinks he can pull Bonnie back in his web."

„I'm just passing out a message." Diego raised his hands in a surrender move.

„Let's get the hell out of here, Care." Bonnie pulled the blonde by her arm and frowned at Deigo. For a moment, her look traveled to the dark haired handsome guy, behind Deigo, sitting up on the bleachers, his dark brown eyes on her all the time. She diverted her eyes from him and turned to walk away. She wouldn't let herself get sucked back in that easy, again.

* * *

There was something magical in the boisterous purr of the engine. It created some certain tension in the air. Maybe it was just the smell or the gust of smoke that was blown behind them as they rode on the empty road. But Bonnie was convinced it had something to do with their proximity in the small closed up space of his Camaro.

From what she gathered till then, Damon was smooth and spunky, there seemed not to exist one nervous bone in his body. And yet, he had a tough time being alone in a room with her. She noticed that over the last few days and it made her curious as to why it was like that.

Maybe it was just because he didn't seem to find anything in common with her, or because she appeared to be a simple small town girl and those kind were too boring for him. Or maybe it was the fact he'd seen in her just the thing she hoped he would. That she wasn't some brainless high school cheerleader, but an actually grown up young woman, ready for any kind of strike life brings her to, good or bad.

And it was becoming more and more clearer it was the later. When he asked her for a ride, his smirk was so bold and shameless, she wanted nothing more than to wipe it off with a bang. But, soon he became more serious and careful like he was contemplating on what to do or say.

She admitted to being a lover of a good old American muscle and all of the sudden, he was cold and indifferent, or at least he was trying to be. There was a spark of nervousness and twitchiness in his moves, as he struggled to keep his gaze straight ahead on the road.

She wondered if he was imagining touching the skin of her thighs, when she noticed his eyes were drawn downwards to her side. Or if he could picture them on the back seat, all sweaty and hot, with the foggy windows like she was doing it at that moment. She wanted to know how his lips tasted, how his fingers would felt against her skin if he was a rough and possessive lover or a sweet and tender one. She imagined a little bit of both.

He pressed his foot down harder on the gas pedal, making the car engine growl louder and she bit her lip and turned her head to the window, pressing her thigs together to ease the excitement that was slowly creeping into her body. That's when she finally admitted to herself, what she kept on ignoring all that time. She liked him...she liked him a lot. And she wanted to be with him, no matter the price there was.

* * *

She promised herself she would not get drunk that night. She knew it would be fairly dangerous and stupid of her to do so. Alchocol makes bad ideas seem like the perfect way to escape your problems, but eventually, it would bear even bigger ones. But, when she arrived at Elena's, along with Caroline under her arm, she got really surprised at the crowd that showed up. Even though, she shouldn't be. Elena's parties were always the most attended ones.

„Hey, bitches!" she greeted them with a sly smile on her face, hugging them both tightly and sending air kisses with a wave of her hand. Elena was 5'6 in height, with long dark hair and big doe dark eyes. She was an absolute beauty, and most of all, she was a very good friend to her and Caroline. The girls weren't that close to her like they were with each other, but they still shared a lot of history together.

„Elena, great party!" Caroline told her, with a beaming smile on her face, while Bonnie just smiled, when the brunette girl complimented on her dress for the night. She scanned the crowd around, her eyes falling on Vicky, who raised the plastic red cup in 'hi' to her. She looked a little better, around the said girl, thinking maybe Matt was here after all. He said he was working a shift at Mystic Grill, but she was still hoping he would show up. No such luck. She noticed Jeremy, Elena's little brother, sitting on the couch and she smiled to him when he waved to her. He blushed and smiled back shyly at her, but she diverted her look quickly away from him.

Of course, after the day she had the only thing that seemed to be on her mind was to get a glass of some burning liquid that will make her brain take a vacation and enjoy the party like any other high school teenager. Like, dancing in the middle of the crowd, or fascinatingly watching the lava lamp shift its features along with the stoners, or eat all the snacks that she could find at the house, or simply just make out with the captain of the football team. Which was Tyler, Caroline's boyfriend, so that was a no-go. Speaking of caroline, she took a quick look around herself, noticing the blonde was already gone. Maybe Chris Mckittrick...he had good arm muscles...Yeah, she could definitely go with there with Chris.

„Hello love." Of course, he was right behind her. His voice was like a calling to her. It was dripping with sexiness. But, she couldn't let him see that. She perfected her bored face and turned to face him.

„I really don't have the nerves to deal with you right now." She shook her head and started to leave, but he stopped her before she could do so.

„Hey, hey, hey. Easy there. I mean no harm, I just wanted to say 'hi.'"

„I'm serious, Kol." She rolled her eyes. „I can't do this again with you."

„Do what exactly? I don't mean to disturb you, love. You know I never mean to do that to you." his accent was going to be the death of her. „What's really wrong?"

„Why don't you just run off to your girlfriend? It's not like you not going to?" She said bitterly.

„Haven't you heard? We broke up." he smiled.

„Yeah, and you also broke up like 3 times last month, so..."

„It's different this time." He tried to explain.

„It's always is with you." she snorted at his words.

„I don't want to talk about her-"

„I don't want to talk to you." she answered exasperated, letting out a frustrated breath and looking away from him. She couldn't let him read her insecurities and troubles. Too bad he seemed to do exactly that.

„Something's bothering you. Something's on your mind." he said quietly, taking a step closer to her and bending down to look in her eyes. He asked her with the most sympathy he had. „What is it?"

„Kol..." she sighed.

„I'm asking as your friend." his voice was sincere and it was killing her.

„I-I should go and find Caroline."

„I've seen her, she's with Lockwood. I doubt she'd be of any help right now." He placed a comforting hand on her shoulder and squeezed it gently. She hated how warm his touch felt. „But, I could. If you let me. Have one drink with me. That's all I ask. Just one."

His brown eyes were straight on hers and she was sold.

„But, one. I'm serious, Kol. One drink." she tried to appear as if she was the one calling the shots, even though in the back of her mind, she already knew it wasn't like that.

„I promise you." he said. „One drink and then you're free to do whatever you like."

Of course, it was never that simple. Not with Kol. One drink soon turned into a second one and a third one, with a river of words flowing comfortably between them and before she knew it, she was on the dance floor, closely pressed against his body, together swaying in the rhythm of a slow song. She was slightly tipsy, but she was still perfectly aware what she was doing. She was conscious enough to know when exactly he entered her private space, when his eyes darken in his look, when his hands got comfortable with her hips and when his lips connected with the nape of her neck.

It was difficult to escape this familiar path they always seem to run to whenever he 'broke' up with his girlfriend Davina. But, Bonnie couldn't deny that she did feel something for Kol, no matter how much she tried not to. There was a connection, a relaxed one, opened, warm one. One she always welcomed, even thought she knew, without a doubt, he would run off to his girlfriend again in the end.

And this time, it was the easiest for her to fall back into their dynamic. She was feeling particularly vulnerable tonight and he knew exactly how to use that to his advantage. She didn't care for the looks of others, she didn't care how she was once again set up for a public humiliation, she didn't care if Caroline herself came and dragged her away by her hair. She only cared for affection Kol was giving her right now. It seemed like the best solution for all her current problems, with college, with Ric, dealing with her past, even the sudden pull for a certain blue-eyed older man. None of those could hurt her right at that moment.

She just enjoyed the sweet sound of music, warm hands gripping her waist, feeling Kol's passionate kisses along her jaw and neck, slipping under her ear, his tongue teasing playfully her earlobe while stroking her own hands through his hair and letting out silent moans only he could hear.

„Kol!"

And just like that, it was over.

Bonnie opened her eyes, watching over Kol's shoulder the short, furious brunette with her wide blue eyes throwing daggers at the sight of them. She strolled closer, in short, frantic steps, as she felt Kol's body froze. She detached herself from him, setting her hands on his shoulder and pushing him away from her. For a moment there she tried to hold his eyes, but he was gone before she could blink. His back already turned on her, yelling at the other girl and making crazy, overwhelming gestures with his hands.

She slowly shook her head and just as she was about to leave, she heard Davina calling for her.

„And where do you think you're going, bitch? What, you can find yourself your own guy, so you go ahead and try to steal mine?"

Bonnie stopped for a moment, smirked and turned to face the other girl. She slowly walked over to her, with her hands on her hips, her head held up high and talked very calmly to her.

„Why don't you shut your fat mouth? I would hate to have to drop you down and make you eat the varnish of Elena's hardwood floor." She smiled viciously and pointed her sharp green eyes on her. „And you know I could to that easily."

Davina didn't move a muscle. It was no secret the two girls were sworn enemies, even before Kol. Their dislike of each other deteriorated back in fifth grade when Bonnie got the lead part in the Christmas musical play, even though Davina was confident she was a better singer, then her. But one thing for sure, in a fist fight between the two of them, Bonnie would definitely win. She already did in the past.

So, all that the blue-eyed girl could do was to step aside and divert her look away, without a word.

One corner of Bonnie's mouth went up, as she directed a short look to Kol and winked at him.

„See you around, Kol."

* * *

Despite the promise to herself not to get drunk, she broke it. Excessively. She just grabbed the first bottle she could find and started gulping down. A heavyweight was lying on her chest and she was determined to get rid of it. She used the back door in the kitchen to get out of there. She needed air.

Suddenly everything was making her nervous and angry. The material of her dress was becoming too tight around her and her skin itched everywhere. Her feet were hurting from her new silver strappy heels, so she took them off and walked barefoot, in the opposite direction of Elena's house, away from the crowd.

She hated how everything was starting to affect her. She hated how it made her feel. Like there was nobody there for her, nobody had her back. She was alone and angry, and worst of all she felt empty, like some part of her was missing. She snorted and took another gulp of vodka.

She usually never drank that much, but she knew how to hold her liquor. However, this time she wanted more. She wanted to forget everything. She wanted to forget Ric and his stupid, overprotective manners with her, she wanted to forget Kol and Davina and everything that involved them. Right now, they were all just a painful reminder of her failures, of all her lost opportunities. She wanted more, more for herself, more from her life. She never expected for all to be simply given to her, but why was it always taken away from her? Nobody ever cared how she felt about it, how it hurt her, how she could deal with it. That was the biggest problem of all. Nobody asked her for an opinion or to make a choice.

She was perfectly aware she was a royal screw up, she messed up big time, but her parents made mistakes, too. They thought they could just take care of it, shove her through a few therapy sessions, and go back to posing for family portraits or going on family vacations. If only it could be that simple. It's not like she wanted to feel the way she did, it's not like she wanted to resent her mom and especially Ric, she knew they loved her and only wanted to do what was right for her, but she at least hoped they would have more understanding for her. Unfortunately, it wasn't like that. You see, they were able to make mistakes and they were able to make their own decisions, no matter how wrong they were, but she and Marcel were excluded from it. They needed to be perfect. And Marcel actually was. He fitted those shoes of the perfect son they wanted, but Bonnie didn't. She went the other way and it defined her whole life. Suddenly, they were watching her every move, testing it twice, to make sure she wouldn't strange again. What they didn't realize, was how it only made her want to play with fire.

She wanted the bad, the ugly, the worse. She wanted to do all those things they would never approve of, she wanted the forbidden.

That's why she and Caroline made the perfect team. They did all those bad stuff, while everybody thought they were actually doing the good. There were the parties, the drinking, occasionally some use of soft drugs, the clubbing with the wrong crowd and the guys. But, lately, all of it sort of reduced. They needed to be careful because graduation was close and if they were going to the college they wanted, they needed everything to go perfectly planned.

Despite that, that night was going in the wrong direction. She felt the alcohol taking its turn on her. She started to lose her perception and safe stand, and she had no idea when exactly she lost all of her sanity. The rest was a blur.

She remembered the concrete sidewalk, the pretty blue color of the house, the green grass, voices around her and the bitter taste in her mouth, as she threw out all the contents of her stomach. Somewhere along the way, she remembered her best friend's voice and hands holding her hair, patting her back and encouraging her to get it all out. Sweet Caroline. You can't take the cheerleader out of that girl. And she was truly her main cheerleader. The only one in the world who even when she couldn't understand her, she loved her and supported her through all. She thought she remembered that deep masculine voice, but she must've been dreaming. She remembered the lifting, however, strong arms carrying her around, the lovely smell of leather and cologne.

And then she remembered the waking up and staring into those ocean clear eyes. She could finally see them for real, as she leaned up closer to him. And she could say that she loved his eyes. It would be an understatement to say they were simply blue when they were so much more. She could see the light, the sorrow, the happiness and the sadness in them. All was perfectly written in them. And his face was impeccable, too. You could say he was truly beautiful. The flawless, pale skin, the pink lips, and strong cheekbones. Damon was a dream come true.

Her heart fluttered when he said she was pretty and smiled. She enjoyed his jumpiness and edge around her, because he made her nervous, too. She liked how he seemed to care about her being well and comfortable. She appreciated how he wanted to keep the distance between them and minimize their contact. But, most of all, she loved how he wanted her the same way she wanted him.

She could feel her heart throbbing loudly in her temples when he placed his hands on her face and his lips on her cheek. She was buzzing on the inside, something was awakening in her, some distinctive, special emotion. But, it wasn't enough. She wanted more.

So, she took it. She grabbed him and kissed him hard on the mouth. Through her body, a warmth spread and her skin was on fire. She felt all her worries and troubles evaporate for that moment. It was like she was walking on air, free of all the chains that slowed her down and released of all the burdens she had.

But, it was short-lived. He pushed her off of himself and denayed anything it might've woken up in him. His rough and angry voice cut through her heart and made her dizzy in the head. She wanted to sleep, now. She closed her eyes and turned on the side, ignoring the rest around her, as she waited for the world to stop turning on her and for sleep to come.

* * *

The room spinning, the heavy pulsating in her ears, a killing headache or an awful nausea wasn't her biggest problem when she woke up in the morning. No, the problem were flashes of last night rolling like short movies in front of her eyes, with no specific order. Worst of all, definitely the ending of the night.

She didn't even want to think about it. Not until she felt a little better. So, raising from the bed and dragging her heavy feet quietly over the floor, she walked out of the room careful not to wake up her still sleeping, friend. She was still dressed in her last night's dress, so she just decided to throw Caroline's fluffy robe over herself. The only thing she really craved for was a cup of hot, fresh coffee. She was in luck because just as she walked into the kitchen, a tall blonde woman was making it.

„Good morning, Bonnie. I'm surprised to see you up this early." She said with a smile.

„Good morning. I just couldn't sleep anymore." She shook her head, like it was no big deal, as she took a seat by the kitchen island.

The woman nodded, as she observed her closely. She was pretty sure she saw something on her because Sheriff Forbes knew her her whole life, it wasn't like she didn't know all of her features.

„Are you feeling all right? You look...worried?"

She quickly tried to deny it. „No. No. It's just, we have a match test today and I've been thinking about it. That's all."

„Oh, Bonnie." She smiled nicely. „If there is someone who knows math, it's you. Don't beat yourself up with it, I'm sure you'll ace it."

„Thank you, Liz."

The woman poured her a cup of coffee and slid it over the island to her. She gave her a beaming smile.

„Why don't you come over for dinner tonight? You haven't been in ages. I happen to be home and Caroline and I were are having home-made pizza. What do you say?"

She could kiss the woman for it. She couldn't pick a better day for it. Quite frankly, the last thing she wanted tonight was to go home and have an awkward dinner with her stepfather who she was fighting with and his best friend who she openly kissed last night.

* * *

When she entered the house, that night, it was already late, but the smell of home cooked dinner was still present. Eggplant Lasagna was her favorite dish and it made her mouth salivate with appetite. But, she knew the game plan of that particular move and she wasn't having that. Not tonight.

Bonnie has been a vegetarian since she was 11 years old. It was a sudden decision she made one day, after reading an article about how the meat industry has been destroying everything nature has given them. Furthermore, it was surprising how much not eating meat seem to reduce water loss, pollution and even global warming. Not to mention, save the animals. So, when the smart 5th grader made a big choice, nobody actually thought she would follow the rules that apply, but boy was they wrong. Bonnie was always headstrong and determent, and she always struggled to get what she wanted, no matter how hard it was to get to it. She made sure, tonight was no different.

She slowly entered her house, listening to the sounds of a conversation that was taking place in the kitchen. Her steps were quiet and easy, completely careful, not to disturb her parents or make any sign she was at the house.

„I'm really sorry you went through all this trouble for nothing." Abby was talking sweetly. „I just, haven't found the enough time to call you and tell you she'll be eating at Caroline's."

Bonnie heard Ric sigh deeply. „Plus, you were mad at me."

„Plus I was mad at you." Abby confirmed. They both chuckled. It was clear just from the way they talked to each other, they were over the fighting and peace was once again restored. It made Bonnie's heart warm just a little. At least, they had each other. It would be a lie if she said that the bliss and happiness of her parent's relationship made her nauseating. It was lovely and sweet, even though sometimes, too sweet for her sake, but she was relieved that they still loved each other after all they've been through. She was happy, how secure and strong they actually were and she could only hope to one day find at least half of the love and understanding Ric and her mother have shared.

„Where's Damon?" Abby asked. „I thought _he'll_ be at least at the house."

„You and me both." Ric answered. „I don't know. I haven't seen him since last night and I have a sneaking suspicion we won't see him tonight either."

„You still haven't talked to him?"

„I never got the chance."

„Well, he's got to come and sleep, at least."

„Or he could sleep at his mansion."

„But, the mansion has been closed for too long, it's half destroyed, I doubt it's good enough for living."

„Yeah, babe." he laughed knowingly. „Damon has a certain way of handling things. You see, when he's mad, he either gets destructive and drunk or in a mood for fixing up and get drunk. His old family house can give him both, right now."

„Just promise me you'll make things right with him."

„I will."

„And with Bonnie, too."

„I will. I promise."

There was a moment of silence, where she could only hear the shuffling of their clothes and deep exhales they both produced. She managed to sneak a short look at the pair, that was embracing tightly. She smiled faintly and retrieved to the hallway. She was just about to go upstairs to her room when Ric's next words stopped her.

„You think she'll be willing to forgive me?" he asked, his voice cracking a bit at the end.

The crack almost made her crumble right away, but she was stronger than that. Things were still too painful for her, and weirdly enough, with Ric's yesterday's outburst, she had seen an opening for something she was waiting for a long time, now. A chance to deal, a chance to rewind and rethink about everything, and a final chance to get back at them. It's not like she wanted revenge, but she wanted for them to acknowledge how wrong they were and realize it was their own blame, too.

„She already did once, I don't see why she would not now." Abby said with her voice muffled, probably by Ric's hug, planting a seed of hope both in his and Bonnie's mind.

* * *

„So, Kol again, ha?" she heard his voice, the next day, as she was sitting at the table in the high school cafeteria, munching on the crunchy carrots, she picked up from home.

She turned her head over her shoulder, looking up at the friendly blue eyes of her oldest friend. His eyes were different kind of blue than Damon's. Matt had that soft gaze, the color of the warm sunny cloudless sky in the middle of the summer. They weren't perfectly clear, they seemed dimmed and foggy, like that comfortable fuzzy sweater you would wear to cover your cold skin from the breezy fresh spring night. He was familiar and safe. She loved that about him.

„You heard." She said knowingly, as she moved away in her seat, making some space for him to sit next to her, which he did.

„Of course. It's only around the whole school." He stated, setting his tray next to hers and opening the bottle of water, before taking a sip from it.

„So, what exaggerating facts have the students of Mystic High been selling?"

„Nothing too much." He shrugged, picking up his sandwich and taking the foil off. „Just, that you were about to elope and make your undying love official, you know so that it will all be in order before the baby came..."

She nodded understandingly.

„...and Davina came crashing in the makeshift chapel/Elena's backyard tool shed and knocked down your minister with some rakes."

Bonnie nodded, tilting her chin impressed. „Who was the minister?"

„Charlie Pinstone."

„Hmmm, surprisingly good choice." She took Matt's water and sipped it, while they both agreed.

She was ignoring his penetrating look from the side, knowing the joke was just so he could ease his real question in.

„So?" he said expectantly.

„So what?"

„Bon." He warned her and she hated that tone of his voice. He used to did when they were kids and he would catch her sneak in candy's before her mom served the dinner. She never understood why was he such a killjoy and always wanted to do the right thing. Caroline was different in that department. When she would see that Bonnie would sneak in sweets before dinner, she would ask her _Why didn't you got more chocolate peppermints? You know I love those!_

But, all that aside, Matt was a really good friend of hers and she respected him for a lot of things. He was not your typical high school football player. Yes, he was popular for his game and his looks were not exactly lacking either, but on the inside, he was just as mushy and soft as she was, under her rough exterior. You just had to dig in real deep to get to it. Matt usually knew how to do that.

„I got nothing to say." She sighed.

„Well, can you at least solve the mystery for me?" he asked her, to which she frowned not understanding his question.

„Why Kol? Why him? There a ton of better guys than he is, Bon, and great guys that really like you. I mean, do you have any idea how many times a day do I get asked to purchase your phone number?"

„But, you never do, do you?" she asked, although it was more of a statement because she was quite sure how he held her high on the pedestal and all those other guys were just simply too beneath her.

„I never do." He said honestly and she smiled warmly at him.

„I can't explain it." She shook her head, playing with the juice box she had on her tray. „There's no good reason for it, Matt. At least, not one you would like to hear."

„Well, are you in love with him? Because that I could deal with. You know, you can't choose who you love, and your heart wants what it wants and all that crap." He joked, being half honest while biting off his sandwich.

She chuckled. „No. That's not it." She said with more honesty she expected.

„Then why?"

„You wouldn't understand."

He stopped chewing and looked at her seriously. It was her most common answer, the one she always gave when someone was trying to dig out too deep. And Matt was going in a very good direction. But, he still wasn't aware of all the stuff she's been through and she couldn't bare herself to talk to him about it. He had enough of his own problems.

„Don't look at me like that. You know I love you like you're my brother, but you can't expect me to confess something I'm not even sure of."

He nodded understandingly, deciding to let it go.

„I just don't want you to get hurt." It was his final statement-

„That's sweet." She smiled and kissed his cheek. „Thank you, Matt."

Before any response could come out of the blue-eyed boy, Bonnie was being yanked out from the table by a strong hand around her forearm and she barely had the time to grab her bag with her, when a fast blond girl dragged her from the high school cafeteria and into an empty bathroom.

Caroline let her go, once they were inside and only when she was sure to check every stall, so they could be alone. The blond set her purse on the washbasin and took out her mascara and lipstick. Without a word she started applying the makeup products, making Bonnie frown and sigh hard, before pointing the necessary question.

„What are we doing?"

„I'm fixing up my makeup and you're making me company." Caroline smacked her lips together after painting them in fuchsia pink number, that matched perfectly her pale skin tone and golden blonde hair color. „It's what friends do, Bon."

„Okaaay." Bonnie stretched out the answer, knowing there was more to come, as she was watching her best friend handing her over the light pink lipgloss from her purse, so she could touch up her makeup, too.

„I'm also listening. So, anytime you want to start talking, I'll be ready." She said pointedly, reapplying her mascara.

„I'm fine."

And Bonnie really thought she answered it pretty believable. But, of course, Caroline just knew her damn too good. That's why she sighed, frustrated, closed the cap on her mascara and turned to the side, so she could look at Bonnie.

„I gave you a day. A day, where you could collect your thoughts and all the stuff that's been bugging you, so now, the day has expired and I am ready to deal with it. So, fire up."

„I told you, I'm fine. I got nothing to fire up."

„Bonnie, this is me. You can say it to me."

„I don't really understand what is it that you would want me to say?" Bonnie chuckled, as she took the mascara from Caroline's hands and fixed up her eyes, just to make herself busy, so the blonde couldn't notice how nervous she was making her.

„How about the truth? What's been going on with you lately? You've been distracted and very quiet. And then you made out with Kol and I just know something is brewing in that head of yours."

„Why would anything be brewing?"

„Because I know you well enough."

„Nothing's wrong, Caroline."

„Bonnie."

„No."

„Just talk to me, please."

„Just let it go!" Bonnie screamed and threw the mascara down at the sink, loudly, making her best friend jump in surprise and widen her eyes at her.

„Jesus, Caroline!" a short hysterical laugh escaped Bonnie's lips, as she rubbed her temples. „Nothing is bothering me, okay? I made out with Kol. It's not the first time I did so, so what is the big deal?"

„What's the big deal?" the blonde repeated before frowning and answering. „You keep going back to him, time and time again, and when that happens I know there's a bigger issue that you're trying to solve with it and I hate it."

Her answer was careful, but most of all it was honest. She was good at reading Bonnie's behavior and she was, after all, the only one, aside from her family that knew about the indiscretion that happened a few years back. She also knew that was the main reason why Bonnie was always ready to step out of the line and go a little too far with her liberties and the blonde was always ready to support her. But, she was also there to stop her, when things would get too far and right now, she was sensing Bonnie was stepping into something dangerous. She didn't know for sure what it was, but she didn't need to know the details, to be aware that her cheer co-captain was starting to crack. And, she couldn't have that now. They were only a few months away from leaving this stupid small town and starting their life at a new place, a place worthy of the awesomeness Bonnie and Caroline both possessed. So, she had to defuse the bomb, before it ticked off and explode in the faces of their potential great futures.

„Look, Bon, I don't want to be the negligent friend that stands by the side and says _I can't believe I didn't see the signs_ once her best friend goes rogue and ends up on _America's most wanted_."

Boonie exhaled. She shook her head and rolled her eyes at her best friend.

„I'm not going rouge."

„I hope not. Because I'm way too pretty to be digging out the graves for the corpses you killed because they outlined you at the supermarket."

They both chuckled.

„You won't have to do that." Bonnie promised and Caroline smiled proudly.

„Good. For the record, I totally would do that for you, but..."

„...you would rather not have to."

„Dirt gets under your nails and you know how much I hate doing actual physical work."

„Caroline, you are really something, you know that?" the green-eyed girl smiled fondly.

„Well, I do try." The blond shrugged and pointed at the makeup that was scattered all over the sink. „Now, get that back into my bag, before I pee and we'll be on our way to history class."

She turned around and walked into one of the stalls. Bonnie shook her head in adoration.

There were times, she felt like she was all alone in this world, like she had nobody around her who would understand her, but then there were times, she would get reminded she had friends. Actual, real, life-long friends that she could count on no matter what. And she had a good family. She was perfectly aware of that. It wasn't a typical American family, but whose was? She was lucky enough to have all those people around her, even after she lost the sight of who she was. And that was the main problem. She was more and more aware of the fact, the problem wasn't of the people she surrounded herself with, but her alone. She was feeling alone because she felt empty, she had no notion of what she was doing with her life because once upon a time she lost that part of herself and nobody could ever bring it back to her.

She looked herself in the mirror, shutting off from Caroline's babbling, something about yesterday's cheerleading practice. There was nothing she knew for sure about herself, nothing she found real or truthful. She thought back at the time when she last felt at ease when she didn't felt like needles were penetrating her skin, so she could feel at least pain, better than nothing. She remembered that time she had her first ballet performance in front of an audience. Or when she won the Spelling Bee contest in third grade. Or when she finally managed to talk to her mom and Ric to let her spend spring break in a spring camp. Or when she got drunk for the first time and got kissed for the first time by Kol, at the said spring camp. Or maybe when she got her driver's license and there was a brand new car waiting for her to drive her back into a normal teenage life. Or maybe it was just last month when she perfected her basket toss while cheering at the big Timberwolves game they had.

Or maybe...it was just two nights ago when she let herself go and felt the soft, warm lips of the blue-eyed man that has been invading her mind, ever since she saw him standing, that first night, in her kitchen.

Her eyes dropped down on the items inside of Caroline's purse. Deodorant, a calculator, mints, granola bar and the pink pom pom keychain attached to the keys of her Fiesta. It was the blonde's turn this week to drive them to school, which meant, Bonnie hybrid was at home in the garage and her dependent on somebody else to drive her.

There was one more thing Bonnie was reminded off. When she wanted something, she would usually make sure she would get that. And right now, the last thing she wanted was to listen to Ric's class, that was next on the schedule.

So, what was a girl to do?

* * *

„...and then I said to Kimberly, I was like, _Kim, you can't go around wearing a scarf around your neck because that's what the cheer captain does and guess what: you're not it! I am the cheer captain!_ She just fucking blanked out from the practice and I didn't see her till this morning when she handed over her cheerleading uniform and announced how she's sick of my lead."

Caroline laughed as she flushed the toilet and exited the bathroom stall.

„I mean, really, what did she-" she cut off herself, once she noticed she was standing alone in the high school bathroom.

„Bonnie?" she frowned and looked around herself. She quickly washed her hands and brushing her hands on the paper towel, she checked the rest of the stalls, calling for her friend and founding them empty. She noticed her lipstick and mascara sitting next to her purse that was wide opened on the washbasin and she walked over to it, so she can clean it up.

She was confused by the sudden disappearance Bonnie just performed and as she was hardly stuffing her purse and rolling it over in search of her cellphone, so she could call her best friend and check just where the hell did she magically puffed off to, when there was something else she noticed that was not where it was supposed to be.

Aside from her best friend disappearing into thin air, she was missing her car keys.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This took a long time to write, but I'm proud of it. I hope you enjoyed it. Thank you for reading!


	7. Chapter 7 - Give into the guilt

**Chapter 7 - Give into the guilt**

 

There was a number of people Damon expected to see standing in the doorway of his kitchen. People that he wouldn't be surprised to see. His lawyer, his boss, his brother, hell any of his ex-girlfriends. He knew it was only a matter of time when one them would show up, in an attempt to mess up his life a little bit more. And he would have probably been more ready for any of them, but the person that was standing in front of him, right now.

He would have been more ready for Connor's constructive word of advice, that he would decline because that's what he always did, instead of the plush, glossy lips that were curled up into a seductive smile. He would have been more ready for Julian's sinister look, then the sparkling bright eyes that held secrets behind better than anyone else. Or Stefan's always perfectly styled hairdo, instead of her wild dark curls that framed her heart-shaped face. He could've dealt with any woman dressed into a sexy little dress, but not with her body wearing the simplest yellow dress she could find. It was too much for him.

His brain was in overdrive all of the sudden. He felt his skin prickle with excitement in the same moment as he felt his throat tighten and that pesky guilt heaviness in his chest rose. His irises were probably blended into his white balls from how much they were widened. He wasn't prepared for this, for her and whatever she was bringing along. At least, not yet.

„Bonnie?" he finally addressed her. „What? What are you doing here?"

Her body language was something that worried him, too. She was leaned on the doorway, head healed high, with her arms crossed under her chest. Her eyes scanned the room, as she walked over to the kitchen island and dropped her purse and denim jacket on it. She shrugged like she had no worry in the world.

„I was just in the neighborhood. Thought I'd stop by."

She was beaming with self – confidence and he didn't like that fact. Something about it, made him get on alert. He glanced over at the clock hanging over the fireplace, the one for which he exchanged batteries on, just this morning.

„Aren't you suppose to be at school?" he asked her.

„I have a free hour." She said flatly while spinning around herself and observing the kitchen.

„And you...what? Decided to spend that hour...here?" he asked her surprised, as she turned to face him and smiled at his expression. She didn't answer him, but that smile told him more than he wanted to know.

The simple fact of her being here, made him wonder if there was something he was missing. Something that he miscalculated, or underrated in any possible way.

She stepped closer to him, and leaned her back on the kitchen sink, right next to where he was standing and he felt his nerves stir up. Like a warning, telling him he needed some space to think clearly, realistically. So, he quickly stepped away from her, leaning his back on her opposite, over the kitchen island. He watched her reaction carefully, as she raised her eyebrows at his move, but didn't comment on it.

„This place isn't exactly near your school..." he said suspiciously. Which was absolutely true, the school was on the other side of the town, so it probably took her about 20 minutes of driving to get here.

„Yeah, I know. I just needed a change of pace." She sighed heavily and rolled her eyes dramatically. „Classes can be so tiring. Sometimes I really need a break."

„You don't have a free hour, do you? You're playing hooky?" he asked, already knowing the answer.

She looked guilty. „I'm just not in the mood to listen to Ric's voice right now."

His jaw dropped a little, as he narrowed his eyes at her. „You're skipping your father's class?"

„Stepfather's." She corrected him, the answer slipping too fast from her mouth. „And yes. He knows what he did."

Okay, so she was clearly, still mad at Alaric for his behavior the other day, and she had all right to be, but this was just petty. She was actually provoking the guy. Looking for more trouble where it shouldn't be one. But, the real reason, this bugged Damon was: what was she doing _here_? What possessed her to come and see him?

He could already smell trouble.

He needed to end this and quickly. He diverted his eyes from her, picking up the tool box from the floor.

„Look, you should leave. I gotta get going, too." he told her, as he turned his back on her and started to gather the tools that were scattered around the kitchen.

„Already? But I just got here." He heard her whine.

„Well, I've been here all night, so..." he said, trying to dismiss her, still not looking at her.

„Riiiight." She stretched the word out. „You were hiding here. Trying to deny to yourself that the other night's kiss didn't happened." She snorted in humor and laughed. „How is that going for you, btw?"

Damon stilled his moves. He stopped what he was doing. His eyes widened, his mouth went dry and he felt a cold invisible sweat run through his body. He swallowed the lump in his throat as he slowly turned to face the girl, that had a smug face expression, still leaning on the kitchen sink, playing it cool.

Yup. There was trouble.

The girl was practically craving for it. He read it from her face, the moment she walked into the room. She played him well yesterday, pretending like she didn't remember anything, making him think he was off the hook. And now here she was, throwing the accusation in his face.

There was a long pause between them. He just observed her silently, trying to figure out, what her goal was exactly. She looked so confident and satisfied with his surprised face and contemplating mind.

He underestimated this girl. There was no more the good, girly or innocent in her. She was devilish, nasty and tricky. She knew how to make the opponent feel like he was winning at one moment, and she knew how to crush him in the next. She played it cool and cold, so much, in fact, it made him go crazy that she was so unaffected by him. She knew how to bother the other person. She knew how to deceive them, how to mislead them.

The realization struck him like a thunder.

She was him.

That's what he did. He was always the one holding the strings, deciding where a potential situation would lead, what direction he would take it in. He did it in his job, in deceiving his business partners. He did it with his friends and family. He did it with women. But he never expected that somebody else would do that to him.

And hell if he would let her win in his own game.

„I thought you didn't remember." He stated the obvious.

„Oh, I remember. That's sort of thing's hard to forget." She said, with a wicked smile on her face.

„Well, I wish I could say the same." He shrugged and turned away from her, continuing to clean up the kitchen.

There was silence, and he could almost imagine the question mark above the girl's head.

„What's that suppose to mean?" she asked.

„It means I don't give much attention to something so insignificant." He said spitefully, not even bothering to turn, so he could say it to her face.

„Wow. You're trying to be an ass about it." She said in an amusing tone, as she pushed herself from the sink and walked to stand next to him, grabbing his arm to make him look at her. He let her but didn't let his guard down. He fought to stay cool and unbothered so that she couldn't see through him. Not even when she leaned closer and looked at him with fire in her eyes.

„You know, if I were you, I wouldn't try that hard. You already have the medal, with just seducing your best friend's daughter." She tossed the words at him, angrily.

He turned his body completely to her, leaning closely in her face, to emphasize the words he was throwing back at her.

„ _Stepdaughter_. And I didn't seduce you."

He thought he saw the smirk on her face spread on his words. Like she actually liked what he said and how he said it.

„No? Then, what do you call what you did?" she asked mockingly, but the tone of her voice told him she was genuinely curious.

„I don't call it anything." he said coldly, as he turned back and continued to pick up the mess around the kitchen island.

He refused to look at her, refused to let her pull him in again. There was a nasty awful feeling waking up in the pit of his stomach. She caught him off guard and if there was one thing he hated, it was when a woman tried to manipulate him. He didn't like that. Like he was a puppet dancing to the way she moved her fingers.

He felt her standing beside him, he just didn't want to acknowledge her.

But, something caught the corner of his eye and he noticed she was holding something in her hand. The hammer. The one that fell down on the floor, when he saw her standing in the doorway. The one he dropped down because he was caught off guard by her appearance.

He hated what that represented, what sort of hidden message was there behind. One, that no doubt she was perfectly aware of. She was the one here calling the shots. No matter what he wanted to do or say, she held the power in her hands.

Why exactly? Damon wished he knew the answer to that question. Maybe because she played him real good. Maybe because he fell for her innocent, oblivious act, or simply, maybe because he would be lying if he said it wasn't a turn on. A woman who knew what she wanted and would take it no matter what. And he was 100% sure she would take it.

She held the hammer in her hands, playing with it, a smug tiny smile dancing on her lips. He tried to snap it out of her hand, but she wasn't having it. She held the hammer tightly in her tiny fist, so when he tried to pull it again, he was left empty-handed.

He turned his head to her, watching her with angry eyes. She was not backing down. She held his look and the hammer strongly, not letting him intimidate her.

But, there was something more than just anger between them. There was this tension, present like it always was, crackling in the air, raising the temperature in the room, making him highly aware of her closeness. Unintentionally, his eyes fell down on her lips and subconsciously or not, his tongue darted out and licked his own. Like he was trying to remember what they tasted like.

But, there was still that nagging voice in his head saying how stupid and wrong that was.

In a matter of seconds, she pulled him in, grabbing his face and placing a harsh kiss on him. However, he didn't let her get far with that.

He pushed her away roughly, so she stumbled back in surprise, and as he wiped his mouth with the back of his hand, he looked at her face. The first second he felt bad for being too harsh but when he saw her laughing at him, actually laughing, he was seething with anger.

She was enjoying this too much.

„What the hell is wrong with you?!" he yelled, as he turned around and snapped his fist against the kitchen counter. He was mumbling in his chin, cursing who knows what and started to rapidly throwing the tools in the bag.

He didn't speak to her, he didn't even want to look at her anymore. He didn't understand why was this girl so keen on getting him in trouble. Was she some kind of shape of bad karma, that was getting back at him for all the bad things he ever did in his life? Was she trying to punish him for all that?

„I'm not dumb, okay?" she said all of the sudden, with no trace of a laugh or humor in her voice. „And I'm not a child, either."

„You stay away from me!" he cut her off, turning his body to her and leaning down to her face, watching her with full rage on. He was spitting fire, with those cold blue eyes of his.

She widened her green orbs, surprised at his behavior. Maybe she finally saw she might've pushed him too far. Unfortunately, that wasn't the case.

She stepped closer to him, leaning her petite curves against his rigid body line. She placed her hands over his face slowly, softly caressing his jaw with her fingers, not letting her eyes drift away from his. He felt the slow, gentle touch on his skin and smelled that sweet flowery shampoo wafting from her hair.

He didn't push her away, he didn't even step back from her, and in true honesty, he just couldn't bring himself to do either of that. He closed his eyes, as she placed her lips an inch away from his, their noses touching and brushing against each other. He felt tingles starting in his fingers like they were aching to actually touch something. To touch her. All of his blood rushed to the unwanted parts of his body, leaving his brain dry and unable to think straight. There was only one thought in his mind. Two words that kept echoing in his ears.

_Her lips. Her lips. Her lips. I want her lips._

„You sure you want that?" she asked him in a whisper, before placing a soft kiss on his lips. He closed his eyes in guilty pleasure, suppressing a grunt, as she traced his lower lip with her soft tongue. She kissed him torturously slowly, their breathing only increasing with each caress of their lips.

He placed his hands on her shoulders and pushed her away, just a little, enough to detach his lips from hers. He needed to see her, to see what she was feeling, was this something she really wanted. He watched the gold spots dancing in her green eyes, her slightly swollen lips, reading only lust in her facial expression.

This was so wrong. He was so wrong. She was so wrong.

But, it never felt more right in his whole life.

Suddenly he slammed his lips back to hers, roughly attacking her with heavy, hungry kisses. He pushed her back against the counter, leaning his body over hers and his hands holding her tightly around her waist, before lowering his hands down her hips and legs, grabbing the back of her tights and placing her on top of the counter easily, earning a yelp of surprise and more passionate kisses from her. He felt her hands flowing around his body, caressing, grabbing, trying to feel more and more of him.

And he wasn't falling behind, either. His hands were tracing up her spine, brushing his fingers through her hair, pulling it slightly to the back at one moment, which made her smile against his lips. He then grabbed her thighs, as he let his mouth wander off of her lips and down her slim, beautiful neck. She arched her back and tilted her head to the side, giving him better access, letting moans that fogged his brain even more.

He started brushing his hands up and down her thighs, every now and then, letting one of his palms get a little higher, touch a little more, feel a little bolder.

He felt her skin pulsating, as he drove his fingers all over her body. The silky sensation, covered in sticky sweat, that he licked away from her neck. She shivered at the touch of his tongue, and he reveled in the taste. Her skin was like salty caramel. Spicy and sharp, waking up all the nerves in his body, and yet luscious and delectable, he simply couldn't get enough.

She tugged him by the back of his neck, her lips once again pressed firmly against his. The kiss went on, their lips moving in perfect sync, with curious hands and lust glowing around them like electric sparks.

And then, her phone rang.

They both jumped at the sound, even though it was muffled by her bag, where the cell was. Damon quickly backed away from her, turning around to avoid facing her. it was like a cold shower all of the sudden. The smallest muted sound of a cell phone was able to break the heating session they were in the middle of. And to Damon, that spoke more than words. Whatever it was, this _thing_ with him and Bonnie was so wrong and dangerous, fragile and tricky, and yet so vicious and alarming. It could break his friendship with Alaric, and that was the last thing he wanted to do. It could provoke a big scar on Ric and the relationship with his stepdaughter and it would be all Damon's fault. He could destroy his best friend with just one stupid brainless thing he did and he didn't even think about the consequences.

He heard Bonnie from behind, getting down from the counter and walking over to her bag, looking for her cell phone. He heard as she turned off the ringing and there was a grave silence all of the sudden. He slowly turned around, seeing her back was facing him and looking down. He wasn't sure if she was looking at her phone or if she was simply too ashamed with herself like he was.

He bit his tongue to stop himself from saying anything and then shook his head. He felt like the biggest asshole on the entire planet. It was unbelievable how quickly the tables have turned on him. Ever since he got back in Mystic Falls, he felt constantly being turned around like he was in a middle of the storm. He expected boredom and bluntness, and he was swept off his feet, with the memories of his childhood, with the changes of the people and his drifting away from his best friend. He thought he was going to tighten their friendship, but all they did until now, was breaking it and tearing it apart. Damon more than Ric.

„You should leave." He finally said.

She raised her head up and turned to face him. She was a little surprised, but she didn't seem that different or upset to him. Her eyes were wide but her cheeks were flushed and her lips were still swollen. Other than that, she was all the same. Not eaten by guilt, like he was.

„Go back to school." He said before he turned around and continued what he was doing before all of this. Cleaning up the mess.

„There's no point in feeling bad about it, you know?" he heard her say from behind, as she neared him. He could hear the tapping of her shoes against the floor. He tried to focus on his task, collecting the tools around, but her slowly approaching was driving him mad.

„It's not like you did anything I didn't want." Her voice was getting deeper and quieter, and then he heard her whisper slowly behind him. „We should just pick up from where we stopped."

When he felt her hands grab his shoulders, he jumped like crazy, pushing himself a few feet away from her.

„No!" he yelled.

„Damon..." she snorted and smiled. „Don't be like that. Don't-"

„I said you should leave!" he screamed over her voice and startled her a little. „Get your stuff and get the hell out of here! Now!"

Her mouth snapped closed and her eyebrows arched in a frown. Damon fought to stay cold to her, just so he could get her out. He needed space to think, he needed time, but most of all he needed her away from him.

In one swift move, she turned around, grabbed her bag and jacket from the counter and started to leave the room in a hurry. When she reached the door, she stopped abruptly and turned her face to the side, almost as if she was thinking about turning to face him again, but she quickly abandoned the idea and left the room.

Only when he heard her car driving away, he could start breathing normally again.

* * *

 

Stealing really wasn't a part of Bonnie's repartee, but she didn't necessarily consider taking her best friend's car _stealing_.

It was more like borrowing, right?

It was a shame Caroline couldn't see it her way. When she went back to school to give the car back to her blonde best friend, it was little to say she was mad. No, Caroline was furious, even more, 'cause she had to cover up her absence from Ric's class with some made up a story about a headache. And now, five hours later, Bonnie was still getting Caroline's essay long texts about the importance of communication between best friends.

Whatever, Bonnie's phone was on mute, while she was reading her literature for Biochemistry, learning how cholesterol was an essential compound for life because of the synthesis of hormones, bile acids, and vitamin D...

_She felt her back being pushed against the kitchen counter. Her lips were roughly attacked by his, all of the sudden. His kisses were needy, exciting and greedy. He was demanding and intense, just like she imagined him to be. Even better than she imagined._

_He lowered his hands down her hips and legs, grabbing the back of her tights and placing her on top of the counter easily like she weighed nothing. His hands traced up her spine, brushing them in her hair, tugging it slowly, bruising her lips with eager kisses._

_She caressed his chest and abs through his shirt, loving how firm he felt under her soft palms. She moaned and chuckled excitingly, when his lips left hers and found her neck, leaving sloppy, wet traces all over it. He let her fingers play with the hairs on the back of his neck as his own hands were over her waist, one of them seeking for a little-naked skin_.

_He snatched his right hand under her dress, feeling the soft, warm skin under his fingers. He brushed her thighs up and down, every now and then, letting his hand get a little higher. She tugged him by the back of his neck, letting her lips once again press firmly against his._

Knock! Knock! Knock!

She jumped in her seat, getting back, in reality, her chin leaning against the palm of her right arm. A little bit of drool on the right corner of her mouth, that she wiped off with the back of her other hand, shifting in her seat, feeling the heavy wetness in her panties. She looked down at the book she was reading and noticed how subconsciously she wrote the letters AMON, where vitamin D was listed.

There was another knock on the door. She closed the book abruptly, cleared her throat, straightened herself up and said with the collect tone she could muster in that moment to come in, whoever the intruder was. She turned around in her seat, watching the door slowly open, and seeing the person standing there, feeling like a bucket of cold water was just thrown on her.

„Hey, you got a minute?" Ric asked.

„I'm busy." She answered coldly, her eyes reverting back to the front of her desk.

Please." He said quietly. „It'll take two minutes."

She was silent, just watching him stand there, his face expression full of guilt. She already knew what the conversation was going to be about. And, quite honestly, she wasn't sure she was ready to have it.

Taking a deep breath, and waving a dismissive hand around, she tried to compose herself.

„Okay...two minutes." she said slowly.

Her stepfather entered the room, taking a seat on the edge of her bed, while she was sitting at her desk. He raised his eyes to her, giving her a light smile.

„Biochemistry, ha?" he asked, pointing to the book she was reading. He didn't notice how her hands were tightly gripping the covers of the book. „I heard Mrs. Patterson is preparing a pop quiz-"

„Ric, your two minutes are slowly deteriorating, so I suggest you get to the point if there is one." She cut him off rudely.

He nodded sternly.

„Right. Well, I owe you an apology...for the other night. I had a couple of drinks and...I was angry... I am really sorry."

„Okay." She answered shortly. „Is that it? Cause, I gotta get back to studying." She turned her body to the desk and already opening the book (avoiding the page about cholesterol, of course).

„Bonnie..." Ric started again. „Please, can we talk about this? I know you're mad, and you have all the right to be-"

„I said it's fine, Ric."

He frowned. He knew it was gonna be hard to apologize to Bonnie, but she was really taking this to the next level.

„Listen, Bonnie..."

„I really don't want to." She turned her head at him, watching him with cold eyes.

„Bonnie, I'm really sorry."

„You said that already. So many times, I've lost count. Now, please. I have to study."

He sighed hard, rubbing a hand over his face. He stood up and started to leave the room, but, right when he was at the doorway, he turned around.

„It had nothing to do with you. Okay? I was angry at something that had absolutely zero connection to you, and I acted out badly. But, I swear, I didn't want to hurt your feelings."

She stood up from her seat and rolled her eyes, as she turned to face him.

„I really don't care what you were thinking or what you wanted... Ric, you said some fucked up things to me."

„Language." He warned her.

„Oh, please, where was your language when you were talking to me?"

„I was drunk-"

„No, you were an ass!"

„Bonnie, please." He sighed hard.

„I'm 18, Ric." She told him with boldness she didn't think she had. „And it's time for you to accept the fact that I am grown up enough to make my own decisions. I don't need you for that, anymore." Her voice shivered on the last sentence and she was quite sure Ric knew the reason behind it. The look on his face told it to her. He squinted his eyes and shook his head as if that move could erase everything that happened.

„Please, could we...could we just..." he swallowed hard and took a deep breath before continuing. „I know. I know that."

„You need to start trusting me." She told him, almost pleading him.

„I do trust you."

He frowned, and when her face expression stayed unaffected, he took a step closer and his hand reached for her cheek, before pulling her into a warm hug, whispering little words of apology in her ear.

„I am so sorry, for everything I said to you. I am never gonna do that again. I promise. I love you, honey."

His voice was full of honesty and warmth, she could feel how desperate he was for fixing the things between them. Funny, how easily she was able to dismiss it.

* * *

Taxes, signing up the papers, making false documents, handshaking with the wrong kind of people, enjoying the welfare that never truly felt like his own, faking the satisfaction and happiness with that kind of life and destroying every miserable proof of what ever he did.

Those were the images Damon kept turning in his mind. He couldn't stop them. He had a good run, for almost 10 years, he was able to play the role of a successful man who made his own life a dream come true. A playboy who had money, women, cars and expensive clothes that he never really deserved. And what did he have to show for himself, after those glorious 10 years?

Absolutely nothing.

Because, once again, after having it all and losing it, he was right back where he started. In Mystic Falls, his home town, with nothing of his own, questioning just what the hell was he suppose to be doing with his life.

As much as he wanted to deny, the truth Ric spoke burned his chest and turned his stomach around, thinking about the choices he made for himself. The only person who dared to speak the truth, the only person who would stand by him, even after he knew all the crap he pulled of...and just what does he do? How does he repay him for it?

By letting down his guard, allowing a high school girl get into his head and do the worst possible thing he could do. Giving into his desire and making, the girl his best friend raised, one of his latest conquests.

He felt wrong, so wrong and awful, it was making him dizzy. Or maybe it was just from the bourbon making his head spinning around?

The loud sound of a dart driving into the board made him blink a couple of times and come back into reality. Which was, at the moment, in Mystic Grill, playing darts with his second favorite bartender, Henry.

„I gotta go back to my job. My break is over." The short man with dirty blonde hair said.

„Oh, come' on! One more!" Damon protested like a little child would.

„No way! I gotta go. But, good game Damon." He watched the guy walk away from him, picking up a glass from a nearby table and throwing a dishtowel over his shoulder. He just snorted in irritation.

„Lame-oo! Who am I suppose to play with, now?" he asked no one in particular, pulling the darts out of the board.

„I could give it a shot!"

That was when he froze. He hated how people were sneaking up to him these days. And even though, he knew and expected the man to find him eventually, so they could work things through, he hated the fact it had to be today. Like he didn't have enough of the guilt boiling inside his stomach.

He slowly turned around, to stare at the face of his best friend, who simply shrugged and took another set of darts in his hand, waiting for him to move out from the front of the board.

It took Damon some time, to actually register what was happening because he was secretly hoping this wasn't happening. He was silent, his lips shut tight as he waited for Ric to finish his throw.

There was a small fire burning in his head and throat, and it only grew bigger, when the man beside him looked his way.

And when he gestured him that it was his turn to play, he hesitated a little, like he was doing wrong by simply standing next to him and being in the same room.

This guy was his friend, brother, and family when he lost his own. He was the one who saved him time and time again. He made his own life good, he was happy and satisfied, and he had people that stood behind him, supporting everything he did. Damon had a feeling, he made one of those people turn her back on him.

Somewhere, in the back of his mind, he was aware that it wasn't entirely his fault, he wasn't the one who pushed himself on her, he actually tried to push her _away_ , but Bonnie wasn't having that. She came in like a tornado, getting what she wanted, igniting a fiery, sizzling passion in him, that he fought so hard against.

So, when he had to toss those darts, he deliberately shoved them at the border of the board, not letting himself earn any points at all. Which made Alaric's face scrunch up in confusion and amusement.

„Something wrong with your aim, Damon? You usually win this kind of stuff."

„I guess today's just not my day." He mumbled. „You know what? I'm done for today. I don't want to play anymore." He dropped the darts and started to leave the play area, to get to the bar, where his drink was still waiting on him.

„Okay." He heard Ric say and followed him back to the bar.

His best friend leaned against the bar, facing him and silently watching him sip his drink. Damon refused to look at him, he just finished his drink and order up another one. When the man beside him ordered himself one, he became aware there was no way escaping the conversation that was coming.

After the first sip, Ric cleared his throat and started talking.

„So, I guess there's really no easy way to approach the matter here, so I'm just gonna go ahead and say it."

„Ric..." Damon sighed.

„I'm sorry. I've been an ass and-"

„No, stop it." He rolled his eyes and rubbed his face frustrated, trying to find a way to stop his best friend and the ridiculous apology he was saying.

„And I've been really in a bad mood with you, for no good reason-"

„No, there is a good reason!" Damon cut him off angrily, making him look at him with wide eyes.

„Like?" Ric raised his eyebrows.

„You don't need to apologize to me, so please don't." The blue-eyed man answered bitterly.

„Well, kind of late now, I already did."

„Okay, then I don't accept it."

„You're seriously that mad?" Alaric asked him incredulously.

„No, I'm not- Ric, it's good, okay? We're good."

Damon really tried to convince him in his words, but it was more than obvious, it was a lie.

„We are?"

„Yeah. Seriously. No harm made."

„You sure? Because you've been avoiding me excessively lately."

Avoiding. Yes. It was exactly what he was doing. He always avoided the things that demanded an explanation or a confrontation. He avoided dealing with the consequences of what he did in NY, he ran away across the country to get as far away, like his problems weren't gonna find him here again.

And he was avoiding Ric. Ever since they had that stupid fight the other day, he avoided him, by spending days and nights away from the Bennett – Saltzman house. Plus, the whole thing with Bonnie was just another add on his list of reasons why he felt he was supposed to dodge his best friend.

„I'm not." He tried to deny, he really did, but failed, when he saw Ric's face expression, so he gave up. „Okay, I have, but there's a perfectly good explanation for that. I'm an ass. You know that already."

Alaric started to laugh.

„I'm serious. I'm the biggest ass in the country, maybe even on the planet." He hoped Ric could read the honesty and maybe even find some kind of an apology for something he wasn't even aware was going on.

„Okay. Whatever. So, we're good." Alaric said with a smile on his face.

„Yeah, yeah, man. We're good." Damon confirmed.

„Good." Alaric clinked their glasses together with a bright smile on his face.

Damon was aware this could easily be one of the last times everything was good between them. He could deal with his guilt for now, even though it was eating him away, but there was a whole other thing he was silently crossing of the list. Confession. There was no way he was ever telling Ric about what happened the day earlier or the other night. He couldn't bear to let those words out of his mouth.

The worst thing of all, he felt as if this was only the begging. No matter how much he tried to deny it, he let his walls down and he was slowly crumbling, to the thing he really craved for.

Or better yet, the one he really craved for.

He sipped his drink in silence, not even listening what Ric was talking about, as he remembered the girl standing confidently in his kitchen, with a look in her eyes that only meant trouble. A trouble he was so foolishly wishing on himself. He thought of her playful smile, glimmering eyes, soft delicious lips, hands that were so wickedly rough against his skin and he forgot about everything he felt bad for. It erased any potential in him, doing the right thing and stopping it while it was still under control. He was slipping from his already shaken stand and the only question was, _when_ would he fall down entirely in front of her and bask in the new found obsession, Bonnie Bennett – Saltzman was becoming to him.

There was no coming back from it. It was already done. He couldn't let that desire go, as much as he wanted to, because it was too intensive and too alluring to him to just let it slide from his fingers. Fingers that were itching to get another feel of that sleek skin and captivating face.

The countdown was starting.

* * *

„...and then she was like, 'you better up your game, cause I'm coming for you.'" the blonde was laughing. „I mean, who even says that? I felt like I was in the middle of movie-"

She stopped talking. She looked at the girl that was sitting across from her, with lost eyes, playing with the salad on her plate, not really eating, lost in her thoughts.

This was supposed to be their time. Besties time. Time for redemption. The time, when Bonnie was supposed to make up for the fact she stole her car yesterday and when she was supposed to listen to Caroline rant away about all of the things she hasn't been listening, lately. They were having lunch at the local healthy food diner and later they had a planned out Salon and Spa package.

„Bonnie? Helloooo! Earth to Bonnie?"

The girl in the question blinked a couple of times, out of her zone and took a look at her weirded out best friend.

„Sorry. Did you say something?" she cleared her throat, taking a sip of water.

„Apparently, nothing important." Caroline mumbled.

This was starting to worry her. Bonnie was acting weird. It was like she was being pulled away from reality, into some kind of a dark dream where she didn't know if she felt good or bad. She remembered there was only one time when her best friend was acting similar, and she was scared that maybe somehow, Bonnie was being pulled back into that dark time in her mind.

It took a lot, the last time to pull her out of that kind of behavior and it was only after all the therapy sessions, the green-eyed girl was finally back to her own. And Caroline knew, she wasn't the same. She was never again going to be the same. Something was definitely broken in her and she was afraid it was never going to be repaired again. Not that she blamed her for it, that sort of thing would break just about anybody, not to mention a 14-year-old girl she was back then.

She set her fork on the plate next to her half eaten gluten free pumpkin pie and moved it to the side. She straightened her spine and then leaned over the small table, her eyes wide opened and a serious face expression.

„Okay. What's happening with you?" she asked her friend, who shrugged, acting like she had no idea what was she talking about.

„Nothing."

„Yeah, that cold attitude and blank face might work for the rest of the world, but not on me. What's wrong? You've been acting weird for the last couple of days."

„I am not acting weird. I'm good. Honest."

Lies. Caroline could see right through it. And honestly, it kind of pissed her off, that her best friend was giving her the benefit of the doubt, that maybe she didn't know her as well as she did.

„The other day, you cut History class, took my car without asking and the night before you got stupid drunk."

„Not that different from the rest of our days."

„Bonnie, you're acting out." She spoke seriously. „And you're doing it in front of me, which is worrying me because we are supposed to have limits."

„Don't you ever get tired of limits?" Bonnie tilted her head, her face frowning in a bitter expression. „Don't you ever just want to stop faking it and..." she laughed humorlessly „Just scream from the top of your lungs!"

It was creepy. The tone of her voice, the smile she wore, the tears that were glimmering in her eyes. She was near to a breakdown. Close to cracking. Just a few more pushes and Bonnie was about to explode like a slow tempering bomb.

„Is this about Kol? Are you upset about him again?" Caroline frowned, trying to find the source of it.

„I couldn't care less about him." Bonnie snorted at the ridiculousness of that statement.

„Is it about college? Have you tried to talk to your parents about it?"

„No. That's not it."

„Then, what is?" the blonde asked desperately.

Bonnie took a deep breath, looking at her best friend's eyes, almost on the verge of tears.

„I feel like I can't breathe sometimes. I feel like there is this huge burden just sitting on my chest and I can't...I can't breathe." She shook her head, before bowing it down and silently admitting. „I had a fight with Ric."

„What about?"

As soon as Caroline asked the question, Bonnie raised her eyes, with the sad, painful look on her face, breaking the blonde's heart. She knew instantly what it was and she hated how her fears were actually coming true. Her best friend was being thrown back into that circle, the one that changed her whole life, her family and the relationship she had with her mother and Ric.

„Oh, Bonnie." She sighed hard, closing her eyes.

„It' wasn't that..." the brunette was quick to deny it. „I mean, at least I think it wasn't. It was about Elena's party and he was drunk...it got pretty bad. He was really mean to me."

Caroline nodded her head in understanding.

„That's why you cut history. Why haven't you said anything?"

„Because I don't know what we were fighting about." Bonnie answered angrily, brushing off the tears that fell down her cheeks. „He still treats me like a kid. He was being a jerk."

The blonde shook her head, reaching for her friend's hands, taking them into hers and rubbing them comforting her.

„Bonnie, Ric is a lot of things. Okay? I know it was rocky for the two of you, but there isn't a doubt in the world, that he loves you like crazy. And you know no matter what, he's only looking out for you."

„Yeah, but he's never gonna let me be on my own." She pulled her hands away, not accepting the words Caroline was saying. „He doesn't trust me."

„Yes, he does. You know he does."

There was so much certainty in her statement. Caroline really believed that. The problem was, that wasn't concerning Bonnie at the time. It wasn't about how their father - daughter relationship was working now, it was about how it worked in the past. And that actually determined the way they were with each other today.

She wanted to move on, Bonnie really did, but she just couldn't let go of that small missing part that made her hate what he decided to do. It was supposed to be her choice, her matter. He wasn't supposed to get involved in that kind of thing, but he was so scared for the reputation of their perfect little family name and the survival of his marriage, he just jumped right in and made her wear that scar for the rest of her life.

„You gotta let that go, Bon." Caroline said quietly.

„I can't. I can't." Bonnie said furiously, leaning her back against her seat, looking down at the patterns of the wooden table in front of her.

„There's nothing you can do." The blonde tried to reason with her.

But, there was a hint. This small part, a pause in Boonie's entire posture, as if she had the key to fixing everything. The only problem was, once she did...there was no coming back from it.

„I wan-" she stuttered, hesitated in her answer.

„I want to... I want to hurt him."

Her eyes had a different kind of glow. It wasn't painful or sad anymore. It was violent and vengeful. Like she already knew what she was doing and she wasn't going to back down from it. She wanted payback and it was what she was aiming for.

„Badly."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, I have a confession to make.   
> I haven't updated this story in a while on this page for a very looong time, however I have updated it on another one. You know, FanFiction.  
> I didn't updated much more just one and a half chapter more. Why half, you ask? Because, I'm currently on a little hiatus, caused by life and his ways that turned me upside down. However, I am planning on continuing, I'm already writing further more and I am proud to say I have at least 3 next chapter finished ( non-edited), but I have put myself on a challenge: There is a certain point I want to get to with the story, and until I reach it, I will not update anything yet.   
> I will also put up this half of a chapter soon.
> 
> I am very sorry for those who have been waiting on this and reading. I hope you'll enjoy the rest when it comes. Thank you!


	8. Puppet on your string

Around the time when he first came to New York, Damon dated this girl named Camille for a very brief time, but it was enough for him to meet the one person that would change his life forever.

Julian O'Connell was Camille's brother, that he met one night at an exclusive club in Manhattan. He didn't know it at the time, but Julian had his pick on him since the moment he saw him. Damon was a young handsome man looking for a way to rise up on a social scale and he was prepared to do anything in succeeding.

So, Julian offered him a job at one of his smaller firms, just to introduce him to the financial world. With time, Damon showed spectacular ability in communication with clients and increase of profitability, so Julian decided to promote him and give him a proper education so that one day, after working his ass off, he could become his main Director of Finances. There was no doubt, Damon was good at his job and he worked hard to get where he was, but there were always those people that doubted his quick rising up the scale and promotions in the firm.

They use to tell him that Julian was a great business man, but as a human being, he failed miserably. He had 2 divorces, 4 children that he barely ever saw and numbers of lovers all over the country. So, yeah, he wasn't so great in his personal plan, but to Damon, he seemed like God himself. He taught him everything he knew, from proper financing to picking up women. He was his mentor and teacher, so it was absolutely crazy for Damon to actually turn his back on him.

Even though, he knew things started to boil up when Julian first asked him to put some of the firm's money to an offshore account. He told him it was just this once, like an insurance policy for his kids, but when he asked him again and again, with the amounts only increasing, Damon knew he was dealing with something illegal here.

So, when he asked directly Julian about it, the guy bought his silence by creating Damon's own offshore account. He knew it was wrong what he was doing, but the thing is, when money started to come and built up, Damon was sold. Soon, the transition of the firm's money to the offshore accounts were the least illegal things he did, in corporation with Julian.

He was in so deep, that he never in his life imagined, how the IRS guys would ever knock on their doors. But, they did and that was where the real problems started.

Damon was fully aware of the fact, what he did was wrong, but he didn't want to pay for it. He cheated, stole, deceived and all those bad things, but the thing that ranged in his head more louder than anything, were the voices of the people who tried to warn him about Julian and how he was only using him because he was young and exploitable. He hated how right they were.

„I thought you said you got it all covered!" he yelled in whispery tone, holding the phone close to his face, his fingers gripping it nervously, the twitch in his forehead catching up again.

_„I did. This is just a slight step back."_

„I can't afford a step back, Connor!"

_„They just want to see the papers, to make sure it was all legally done. They will compare the dates, signs, and facts, and when they establish no deception was made, they will rule it out. It will be fine."_

„How the hell did they even got to Stefan?"

_„They tracked down your calls."_

„Is that even legal?!"

_„They're the ICC, and you are under their investigation."_

„Yeah, but this is an invasion of privacy!"

_„Damon, you are the key witness in one of the most important cases of fraud in the State of NY! You have no privacy anymore!"_

He sighed in frustration. The day was not going well for him. This morning, he got an email from the Prosecutor's office to report a legal document of singing off all the rights of his family inheritance to his brother Stefan. His lawyer advised him to do so, a few months ago before all the mess with his firm went down. It was a strategic and smart move, but the fact that they were starting to ask questions about it didn't seem all comforting to Damon.

_„Listen, I told you I will take care of everything. I'll contact Stefan, talk details with the Public Prosecutor and make sure no repercussions involve your family's heritage."_

He disconnected the call. He didn't want to listen anymore. Connor Jordan was his lawyer and longtime friend, and Damon knew he could count on him, but he felt that with this he was in over his head. He turned off his phone to avoid any more calls from Connor and sat down at the desk. He was downstairs, in Ric's study room and it was around midnight, so the rest of the family were sleeping.

Damon was worried. Things were starting to escalate around him. Thoughts of what he's done and what he should do, were dominating his mind. His stomach was knotted up and he felt a headache coming up.

„Fuck!" he knocked his fist against the wooden table and grabbed his head, rubbing his temples in a circular motion.

The thing that passed his mind was his brother. The thought of how they will get to him and turn him against Damon. His own brother will testify against him. He could already see it. Stefan, sitting in the courtroom, pointing his finger at Damon, accusing him of always making the wrong decisions, never taking up the real responsibility for his actions, spending and flaunting the money that was never really his...it seemed like a nightmare.

„Something bothering you?"

He was startled by her voice at the door. He raised his head up to her and resisted the urge to scream or growl in frustration. Bonnie was standing at the doorway. And she was really the last thing he needed right now. He had enough problems without her trying to involve him in more.

„You can't sleep?"

„Leave me alone. Please." He shook his head and bowed it down. „I can't deal with you right now."

„You act as if I'm some kind of chore or something." She snorted and entered the room, closing the door behind her. He raised his head and watched the smile on that devious face of hers. She was once again looking for trouble and this time he wasn't gonna give her one.

„Bonnie. I'm serious. You don't want to mess with me tonight. Any other day, fine. We can pick this up first thing in the morning, but for now, get the hell away from me." He talked in a low dangerous voice, to which she raised her eyebrows.

„Wow. Something really pissed you off, ha? I'm kinda jealous it's not me." She laughed sweetly, but he wasn't having it.

He raised from his seat and without another word, started to leave the room. But, before he could do so, Bonnie stopped him, by pressing her back against the door, barricading his only way out.

„Get out my way." he said.

„No."

„Bonnie. I told you-"

„You really think I care that you're pissed and not in the mood?" she raised her own voice.

„You should. For your own good." His voice was cold, void of any kind of emotion, except maybe anger and for some strange reason, it actually excited her.

„I'm not moving away." She told him seriously.

He cursed and turned around, growling in frustration, annoyed by her stubbornness. When he turned to face her once again, his eyes were full of venom, and so were the words that followed.

„You know what? I've just about had it with you, you _little girl_!" He emphasized the last two words, to spite and get her back. „You better get your attitude under control, before I make you!" he widened his eyes so that he would intimidate her, but it didn't help much.

She snorted and laughed cynically to him, as she casually walked over to him, to stand straight in front of him, not showing any kind of fear or sign she was backing down.

„Yeah? And how exactly are you planning on making me?"

„You don't want to know." He said slowly, getting into her face.

He was fuming with anger. She was this spoiled teenage girl, that was probably used to get what she wanted. She put on a good act, playing a good girl and all, but she proved him wrong, going 180 on him and changing her attitude to a needy, immature chick that needed somebody to set her straight. And he was ready to do exactly that. He would never hit a woman, that was something he was 100% against, but he could find a way to punish her. She was just provoking him in all the wrong ways.

„Yeah? Well, come on, then. Make me." She whispered slowly.

His eyes were narrowed and cold, jaw tightening, his teeth grinding, every word coming out of her mouth seemed to make him angrier. She messed with the wrong guy, tonight. Right to this point, he was easy on her, always trying to detain himself from fully reacting on her behavior, but he was all done with that, now.

Just as she raised her hands to put them on him, he grabbed her wrists and pushed her behind, pressing her back against the door. It made her blink in surprise, knocking the air out of her lungs, watching his eyes full of rage.

But, his move made her mad, he could see it.

„Let go of me!" she muttered angrily, trying to fight his grip on her wrists that he was holding pinned above her head, but he was too strong.

He had her now. She was obviously furious with the turn of the situation on her. It was time for her to finally realize she shouldn't fuck up with him. She wasn't the only one who knew how to screw other people around and he was more than happy to teach her a lesson.

Her struggling and squirming were starting to irritate him, so to drive the point home, he roughly pressed her further along the door and pushed his entire body tightly against hers. She looked up at him, her eyes wide, lips slightly parted, practically panting from all the commotion.

That's when he realized he made a mistake.

When he noticed the quickening of her breath matched his own. When he noticed her chest was rising and falling harshly against his. When he felt her shuddering against him. When he became highly aware of her wrists in his hold, her hot skin in his hands and when he finally looked her back in the eyes, he could see them glowing.

It was becoming too hot in the room, and he knew this time he could only blame himself for it.

His own breath got stuck in his throat when she batted her eyelashes at him and rested her forehead against his. She licked her parted lips slowly while watching his, as his eyes fell on her mouth.

He was done. He couldn't fight this feeling he got on the inside, this overwhelming desire to touch her and pull her impossibly close to him.

He dipped his head lower and dived into it.

He kissed her.

Roughly. Urgently. Passionately.

At that moment, nothing around him made sense. Not his concern for the trail, that magically disappeared from his mind. Not his anger with her obnoxious behavior, that was rapidly melting into this irresistible hunger for her.

He felt her own mouth melded into his, welcoming the warmth of her lips, as he let go of her wrists, his hands drifting down her body, all the way to her hips. He felt her hands against his face, her fingers firmly gripping his cheeks and jaw in some greedy way, that he was utterly enjoying. He couldn't tear his lips away from hers. He wanted to kiss her incessantly. He encircled his arms around her waist and she put hers around his neck, forcefully pinning their bodies closer. The taste and feeling of her, so connected to him drove him mad.

One of his hands slowly drifted down to her ass, caressing her firmness and squeezing it tight, which made her moan deliciously into his mouth. He felt her slowly leaning backwards, the back of her head resting against the door, like she was trying to tell him she's all his, like he could do what ever he wanted with her. He felt his blood flowing down to his member, making him feel dizzy. Her hands started to flow downwards, feeling the tight muscles of his arms, going down to the front of his pants and taking a hold of his erection.

His breath hitched in his throat, as he detached his mouth from hers, his hand quickly grabbing hers and leaning his forehead against hers.

„What the hell are you doing?" he whispered huskily, still feeling light-headed.

„Finishing what you started." She murmured, using her both hands to rub him along his shaft.

„No, no. Stop." He tried to stop her, but she kissed his lips as she kept touching him and trying to unclasp his belt buckle. „Bonnie. Stop." With some fidgeting, he managed to grab her hands and stop her before she could go any further than that.

„Stop it!"

He stepped away from her and pushed her slightly, her back once again making contact with the door. He turned around, thrusting frustratingly his fingers through his hair and tugging it harshly like he wanted to tear it out.

„Fuck!" he cursed, thinking what the hell came over him.

Why couldn't he hold his distance away from her? His brain was fucking with him. There was something really wrong in the way he was trying to handle this situation. She just kept appearing at the most unfortunate moments, using his weaknesses to her advance. But, the problem was how did she know his weakness and why did he kept letting her?

„Why do you keep on fighting this?" she asked, her voice still raspy and breathless. „We both know where it will eventually go, so why don't we just do it and get over it already?"

He turned to face her, his jaw hanging open in slight shock, eyes narrowed and furrowing in confusion and anger.

Did he just hear her right?

He couldn't believe what she said.

It's not like it was not on his mind. He would be a hypocrite if he said, he wasn't imagining it, but it wasn't something he could easily deal with. It was enough what he did already, kissing her and touching in the way he shouldn't. If she were any other woman, he would've screwed her senselessly in no time. But, she wasn't just anybody.

She was not for him to take. She was forbidden to him. And she was frustrating the hell out of him.

„Is that it? Is that what you want? You want me to fuck you against the door, while your parents are sleeping on the upstairs floor?" he said through his gritted teeth.

He didn't plan on being so harsh with his words, but he wanted her realize the seriousness of the implication she made. And she actually had the audacity to laugh saucily at his comment.

„Well, you can't say it's not exciting. The fear of getting caught?" she bit her lips in a seductive manner.

„What's wrong with you? Why are you like that?" he shook his head, not understanding how could she be so flippant about it.

Like she didn't care for anything or anybody. She didn't care who would get hurt in the process or how awful did it sounded coming from a girl like her. She was this unconventional beauty who had the ability to make men swoon over her. It wasn't so simple, like when you see a hot girl in some nightclub, thinking about how you want to fuck her in the bathroom stall and never see her again. Bonnie wasn't that type, but she kept displaying herself as if she were. It bothered him, why was she like that?

„Like what?" she snorted and pushed herself away from the door, stepping closer to him, as she continued before he could answer. „Please, don't go and blame this whole thing on me, again. I might've started this, but we both know you had your dirty little thoughts, since the first time you saw me."

His eyebrows raised in surprise again.

If she wanted to be so cocky, he wouldn't let her. He was older here, the responsible grown up, for crying out loud! He wasn't going to let some sassy school girl think she had some kind of power over him. No way in hell.

„Giving yourself a little too much credit there, honey." He widened his eyes to emphasize his words. „You're not so irresistible as you seem to think you are."

She laughed mockingly at him.

Just a beat later, she pushed him against the desk behind him and before he could wrap his head around what was going on, she had her hand on his still hard cock.

„Really? Then, what's this for?" she whispered in his ear.

„Stop..." he groaned, closing his eyes as he felt her hand stroking him over his pants, almost losing his mind once again. Her warm breath was hitting down his neck, tingles going through him like electric sparks, waking up the tiniest nerves in him and making them stand up in alert.

„Don't think I don't know what an erection is. I know it's a little fantasy to take down a virgin, but that ship has sailed a long time ago." She licked the shell of his ear before she pulled away and looked him straight in the eyes. „Besides, it only means you can be as rough and dirty with me as you like."

She backed away, with a smirk in place, watching him trying to catch his breath and enjoying this way too much. She stepped backwards until she reached the door and with one last wink, slipped out of the room.

* * *

The thing about real best friends is that they stay with you for life. They are your family by choice. And Damon truly believed he and Ric had that kind of relationship. No matter how much time had passed, there was still that undeniable connection between them, that sense of brotherhood, the kind you don't get from your own family. Damon wanted to believe Ric was the only one who would never turn his back on him, no matter what happened. To a certain degree, he knew that was the case. He knew he could count on Ric regardless of the situation.

Unfortunately, lately he started to question that fact, ever since that dreadful day when he took their friendship for granted and decided to stab Ric in the back with a big, fat, pointy knife. Of course, the man had no idea about it, so it was harder for Damon to try and stay neutral to everything else.

Like this morning, as he followed Ric down to the kitchen of the Bennett – Saltzman residence, while the man in front of him, talked about some recipes for his homemade burgers. Damon was only half listening, feeling a little unworthy of his presence in this house again. It's not like he had a choice. When Ric asked him why didn't he want to sleep in his place, instead of the half-wrenched, dust filled, desperate for a reno, old mansion, there wasn't a thing he could say. There was no good reason he could think of, that would not add the suspicion in the other man's head. So, the only thing he could do was to retake his old place in his best friend's house and pray to God, he could avoid the real reason he didn't want to be in here.

But, as always, God or whatever higher power there was, had a funny way of answering his prayers. Because, just as he entered the kitchen walking behind his best friend, there she was. The omnius pretty girl. The object of his wrong fantasies. The one he would rather avoid, especially when Ric was near.

The green eyed pointy knife.

He stopped at the entrance, shoving his hands in his pockets like he was trying to hide his sins that were written in the back of his fingers or the palms of his hands.

He swallowed hard and stood there frozen in his stand.

„Hey, you're up early." Ric said to the girl as he walked over to the counter to pick up two mugs from the pantry. „I thought you were free the first class."

„I am. But, I'm driving today, so I got up earlier."

Bonnie was cold and cool as a cucumber. She was just sitting at the kitchen island, eating some kind of porridge that smelled like honey and cinnamon all the way to where Damon was standing. She didn't even raise her eyes to look at him or greet him. It was like he was non existing to her.

„Okay. Listen, I was thinking on Sunday, we could have a barbecue. We haven't done that in a while." Ric said as he poured coffee in those mugs.

„Sure, whatever." She shrugged, as Ric nodded.

That was when he realized Damon was still standing at the doorway. He frowned and laughed at the same time.

„Damon, your coffee, man?" he asked as he stretched out the hand with a hot beverage in it. It took Damon some time to actually register what was going on, who was talking to him and what. He knew he probably looked like he lost his mind, which to be the truth, he thought he was slowly starting to.

Especially when he noticed she was watching him. Now, to any other people, or even to him on a different day, the look might've seemed just like any other, normal glance. But, there was this moment, just a single, quick, moment where his eyes found hers and it was like that pointy knife was being directed at him. Just above his chin, against his throat, he could feel the threatening chill of the cold steel, through the meaningless glimpse she gave him, followed by the microscopic lift of one side of her lips.

He slowly took a few steps inside and took the mug out of Ric's hands carefully, without a word.

„Okay." he ignored Ric's raised eyebrows and decided to just stand by the side in silence.

„Well, I'm leaving now." Ric announced as he downed the rest of his coffee in one sip and set the mug in the sink. „Bonnie, have a nice day in school and...Damon, I'll see you later. Don't forget tonight, okay? Game and beer?"

„Wouldn't miss it." He nodded his head, trying to play it cool.

„Awesome." Ric smiled and fist bumped him awkwardly. Then he turned over to his stepdaughter and walked over to her. „Bye honey." He kissed her cheek and without another word he was out of the room.

And then the room was starting to spin on Damon. Like some kind of upper hand was deciding to just throw him in the fire and see what happens. There he was, not five minutes ago, talking to Ric, practically half awake, and here he was, right now, stuck in a room with the person he least wanted to be stuck with, without Ric or anybody else near them.

He didn't know what to think or what to do. The only good thing was she seemed to be ignoring him. She was just sitting in her chair, munching on her meal, washing it down occasionally with a glass of milk. The downside was, she was in the perfect lighting, the early morning sun rays were peeking through the kitchen window glass, falling on her skin than resembled a rich, warm caramel with tiny specks of sugar crystals in it.

He assumed she used some glimmering skin lotion.

And now he was thinking about her applying the lotion on herself. Was she doing it naked, or in her underwear or just in her towel after a nice warm shower? Was she pressing harshly into her skin or was she using slow, circular motions, spreading the silky structure on her sun kissed complexion?

She startled him when she suddenly raised from her seat, the high bar stool she was sitting on making an irritating sound of wood scraping against the floor. He fidgeted in his stand, diverting his eyes straight in front of him on some flower arrangement on the kitchen table.

That was one of the things that fascinated Damon. There were always fresh flowers in this house. Didn't matter what kind, diversity was sort of the point, but flowers were never missing. It was Abby's thing, he assumed. When she and Ric started dating, the man would always buy her flowers before their date. Damon knew this because he would always have to accompany him to chose which one he would get for her.

The knocking and tossing of the kitchen dishes made him look over to the young woman that seemed frustrated by the lack of coffee in the coffee container. She tossed the pot and her cup down to the sink and exhaled irritated. She turned around and their eyes met.

Something in Damon shifted. He wasn't sure if it was just his gag reflex from the guilt he kept swallowing down or was it the fact that they were alone in the house and they were both aware of it. They were only a few steps away from each other and he knew they were once again standing on dangerous ground. But, for the life of him, he couldn't move. As much as he wanted to and as much as he tried to, something in him didn't let him.

Not till the moment she shifted and took a step closer. He copied her moves but instead he was stepping backwards. It made her smile when she noticed how he was trying to avoid her advancing towards him. Unfortunately, there wasn't much ground for him to try and outrun her because his back stumbled across the kitchen stove.

Her smile spread and she used slow, calculated steps towards him and stopped right in front of him. This time he sighed in frustration.

„Bonnie.." he went to warn her as soon as she pushed her hand towards him but surprised him when he noticed she was aiming for his cup. Her fingers brushed against his as she took the mug out of his hold and raised it towards her lips. She sipped his coffee casually like she had no care in the world. She watched him squirming in his place, as she took a few steps back and laughed mockingly. He hated the sound of her laugh.

„Relax, will you. No need to get all skittish around me."

„I'm not skittish." He muttered through his gritted teeth.

„Right." She snorted with disbelief, letting her eyes travel all around his front suggestively, while licking her lips deliciously.

_Was this girl serious?_

She was so flip and arrogant with him, that he didn't know how exactly to react to her. Her behavior towards him around other people was inconspicuous like he didn't bother her at all, like he was non-existent, but the second they would turn their back on them, she was in the game. It was like she became this over confident, brash woman that looked at him like she could crush him like a bug, with no effort necessary.

It irritated him beyond words. He didn't want her to have that sort of power over him, or at least he didn't want her to be aware of it.

„You got a problem, Damon? You seem very nervous." She smirked at him.

„You think I'm scared of you? I couldn't care less about you." he spat the words, but it only made her raise her eyebrows in disbelief.

„Really?"

He only had time to nod, before she set the mug down on the counter and started to walk towards him again.

She was like a lion threatening to eat him up like he was a baby gazelle. She could outrun him, catch him, rip him to shreds and consume him in a number of seconds. And she would do all of it, with a satisfying grin on her face. That was the difference between her and most of the women he usually dated. Mostly, he went for the gullible, easy women with whom he didn't have to play too much.

But, there were some exceptions. Like Krystal, for example. She was demanding, mostly in the bedroom and needy for attention. She was abrasive, except when it was concerning her. He couldn't deal with her everyday mood swings, so he had to cut that off.

Then, there was Katherine. Now, Katherine was a shark. She was the kind of women that knew what she wanted and knew just what she can get. But, she was cold. There was no connection to that woman what so ever. The sex was amazing, but it failed miserably because it lacked some sort of affection.

Now, Damon was not a teddy bear type. Intimacy and romance ain't exactly his shtick, but he needed to have some sort of connection to his partner. Because, beyond all, he was a lover. If he really wanted to, he could easily have any women begging and pleading for mercy. But if his partner wasn't enjoying it, he couldn't either.

But, Bonnie was some kind of new type, some mixture of both, blended with a tempting magnetism, he simply couldn't ignore. A type of a woman he didn't exactly know how to deal with. He assumed the problem was in her family relations, like the fact she was Ric's stepdaughter. He didn't know what to do with that. How to approach her, how to talk to her, how to get her to forget this crazy idea of _him and her_.

And despite all of that, a part of him still enjoyed her preying on him like he was just a piece of meat, that she could chew and spit out when she was done. The idea tempt him.

Her feet stopped in front of his. She stood close to him, raising her hands to the collar of his shirt, pulling it down, feeling the skin of his chest, looking at it mesmerized. His hands gripped the stove behind, his back pressing hard against it, to avoid the need to put his hands on her. She moved closer to him, their faces inches apart and her lips almost touching his.

He didn't want to move, he almost wanted to stop breathing, just to stop her from doing anything. Her hand raised to rest on his cheek and her tongue darted out of her mouth to lick his lips slowly before she smirked and backed away from him. He could read it from her face, how much pleasure she took in teasing him like that.

He hated it.

„You need to stop with that. Whatever it is you got in that head of yours, you better put an end to it. Before you get yourself in over your head." he spoke with the most certainty he had at the moment.

She laughed, as she stepped away and turned around to take her bag from the kitchen island and put it on her shoulder.

„You're probably right. Just one little problem with that." She turned around to face him with an innocent smile. „I don't really want to."

„Well, then you count me out of it, cause I'm done playing this game with you."

„Careful what you wish for, Damon."

She took her stuff and as she prepared to walk out of the room, she stopped to run her hand over his chest and down his rigid abdomen, stopping at his belt.

„I don't like it when I don't get the things that I want." She winked at him and left the kitchen. „Thanks for the coffee. See ya."

* * *

„Daddy, can I have some ice cveam? Pveaseee!"

Bonnie raised her eyes from the bag of frozen peas she was looking at, to see an adorable little girl with pigtails and ribbons in her hair, begging her father for the sweet desert. She was at the grocery shop, along with Ric, buying the stuff they needed for Sunday's barbecue. He went to get the meat, while he left her to do the rest of the shopping.

„You know you can have it, only after dinner." The father of the little girl said.

They were standing just a few feet away from her, so she could hear exactly what they were saying.

„You avlways say that, but you nevev let me have it!" the little girl pouted, crossing her small arms across her chest, while the father frustratingly sighed. He watched his little daughter before he knelled down, to be in her eye level.

„How about after mommy's delicious dinner, I take you out for ice cream? Hmm? What do you say about that?"

He had a wide smile on his face, as the girl started to crumble slowly.

„You pvomise?"

„I promise."

She smiled brightly, giggling as she hugged her father tightly, her small arms embracing him like a koala bear. The father kissed the crown of her head, before he stood up, took her by the hand and they turned around, while walking away.

Bonnie was watching them speechless. She could feel her fingers starting to hurt from the freezing coldness of the peas that she was still holding. She felt her eyes drifting, as well as her mind, with a smile on her lips, thinking how sweet the scene she just witnessed was.

Unfortunately, it hit her a little too close to home. She felt the tightness in her chest, constricting her heart muscle, the smile slowly disappearing from her face, as her eyes started to water up. She gritted her teeth together, gripping the bag of peas even tighter in her hold, feeling that pang of jealousy of the little girl, stuck in her throat. How sad it was, she could get jealous of a five year old? And she didn't even like ice cream, that much.

„Hey, Bonnie!" she felt a hand gripping her shoulder and turning her around, to face her stepfather.

He looked a little amused by her daydreaming, but when he saw the crystal glance in her eyes, his face transformed into a serious one.

„Everything all right?" he asked her carefully.

She could feel the sting in her eyes and hated he'd seen it. So, she just shook her head and took a deep breath, before answering.

„Of course. You got everything we need?" she asked him as she put on her best smile back and tossed the peas she was holding into the cart that Ric was pushing. They continued their path along the aisles, Bonnie purposefully holding her back turned on Ric, and observing the items on the shelf.

„Yeah, I think we do. I got you some zucchini, mushrooms and eggplant." He said, looking down at the items. „I hope you'll be okay with that."

„Yeah, whatever, it's fine." He heard her mumbling.

„Bonnie, is everything okay?"

His tone must've suggested he was getting worried, because she stopped walking and turned around to face him.

„You seem kind of...upset." he guessed.

„I said I was fine, Ric. Now, com on let's go." She put on a fake smile, before continuing their walk through the store towards the cash register.

* * *

Some days, Bonnie felt like something was really wrong with her. Lately, more than ever. She wasn't an ordinary girl like most of her peers were. She couldn't even find a kindred spirit in her best friend Caroline, as much as she tried. She loved her blonde best friend, no doubt about it, most days she wouldn't know what to do without her, but still, it wasn't enough.

She kept reaching for this pain and chaos, or what ever you want to call it. Like her life wasn't damaged enough, she just couldn't stop from going deeper and lower than ever. That was the only way she could explain why she was so keen on driving Damon mad. She understood his frustration with her, she understood why he wanted to be moral and righteous, to keep that trust he had with Ric.

Or, at least, what he believed he had.

She didn't know much about their friendship, except for the things she heard, but for lifetime friends that were so close, as they claimed they were, they sure had a lot of stuff hidden from each other. Well, Ric did. She was quite sure he never told Damon about what happened four years ago. He was pretty determent to keep it a secret. Still, it wasn't his story to tell, but it affected him, as much it affected her, Abby and Marcel.

So, why did she wanted to make Damon practically a pawn in this game she was so stupidly convinced she was playing?

Because she wasn't so sure there was _any_ game.

Yes, she wanted to get back at Ric, for the lack of saying. She wanted him to feel like she did, like he had no matter in the saying, like he had no right to anything. Although she wanted to believe she was actually that careless and flippant about his feelings, she knew deep down, she could never tell him the truth. It would destroy him. Somehow, her simple knowledge that she was able to take something from him without even asking, was enough. Even if it was his best friend.

The only problem was, she thought she would have better restraint with the situation.

As much as she liked to pretend she had things under control and no feelings were included, the truth was, when she felt Damon near her, she couldn't think straight anymore. He surprised her with his impulsiveness and the amount of passion he was giving into it. She had never been kissed or touched the way he did both on her. And she liked it more than she could admit.

Kissing Damon felt like being out of this world. Like she was stepping out of her shoes and being transferred into some other universe, where nothing else mattered. It was like she was in a state of cataclysmic happiness and heavy weightlessness, which made absolutely no sense at all. It was a knife with two sharp ends, each of them could cut your gut out like nothing.

In one word, It was euphoria, crossing through her veins. Her ears and the tips of her fingers burning like they were on fire. Her whole body was hungry for the closeness of his, her legs nothing but a wobbly mess.

Somewhere in the back of her mind, she was perfectly aware of the consequences. But, she couldn't bring herself enough to care about them.

That night at the study with Damon was a dangerous game on edge, but it was also an indicator, how much he felt the same as she did.

Today, however, she had a different opinion. Over the last few days, after their midnight encounter, he had a problem with looking in her eyes. And she didn't blame him, she could understand it, how he felt, the shame, the guilt, it was probably eating him away. But, on the day of the barbecue, he decided to turn the tables on her. He was starting to piss her off, and she knew he was enjoying it too much.

Ever since she was a little girl, they had these traditions as a family, sort of like family events that were mandatory to attend. And to be true, Bonnie use to love those. The family game nights or movie nights, the family road trips...she really enjoyed them, but back when she was a kid. As she grew up, she became more and more annoyed by those things, because she had to spend her free time with her family, and she would rather spend it with her friends.

The Sunday family barbecue was one of those events. They would get together with the neighbors on a Sunday, chatting and laughing, making memories for life, as Abby would say. This Sunday was no different, except, among all those disinteresting neighbors, there was their house guest, too. Damon. And this time, she had to admit she stayed around for his sake.

Except her plan wasn't going all that well, and she had Ric to thank for that. This morning, when he got back from the grocery store, buying the last of what he needed, he announced he ran into a familiar face and he had no choice than to invite the Donovan family over.

Now, for Bonnie, it really didn't sound as a problem, because it meant her friend Matt was tagging along, but his mother Kelly was turning out to be a thorn in the eye. Kelly Donovan was known for her lack of responsibility to her family and her tendency to promiscuity, but Bonnie never thought she would ever see her friend's mother as a rival.

There was no doubt the women had game, Bonnie had to give her that. Since the moment she came over, Damon caught her eye and it became her whole purpose to get with him. She used every opportunity to touch him or smile at him, or just about anything to show him, she was open for business.

Bonnie was currently in her room, upstairs, with Matt who was playing some stupid game on her brother's PlayStation, while she was standing at the window, watching down on Damon and Kelly, in the backyard, shamelessly flirting with each other.

She rolled her eyes when Kelly pointed something on his arm, but she was actually just trying to feel his bicep.

„How come you didn't tell me your mom was back?" she asked the guy behind her.

„I don't know." He shrugged, not taking his eyes of the screen. „It didn't come up."

„You're lying." She said, as she turned around and waited for him to look back at her.

She knew what Matt thought about his mother and how much he hated to deal with her. She was a terrible parent, Bonnie was very much aware of it, being witness to some of her infamous failures and troubles.

„She's a mess." Matt answered, pressing pause on his game. „A blank, drunken everyday mess. She came in three nights ago and already managed to get into trouble. The manager of the Lumière restaurant called me up, saying she was dancing on the tables, striping for the guests and trashing all the glasses at the bar, when she saw nobody was leaving tips for her stripper dance."

„Oh, God." Bonnie crossed her arms under her chest and leaned on the windowsill. „I'm really sorry, Matt. But, you know you could've called me."

„And say what?" he snorted. „ _Hey Bon, remember all those snowballs we used to collect from every single trip we had? Well, they're gone. My mom decided to play baseball with them and smashed them all over the house."_

„She did?" she frowned.

Matt nodded his head.

„She's a mess. Always has been. Her latest trucker boyfriend dumped her on the side of the road when he got bored of her, so she thought 'Hey, why don't I go and see how I can make my kid's lives a living hell."

He looked down, shaking his head and fumbling with the joystick.

„How long is she planning on staying, this time?"

„Don't know. She's probably already on the quest of finding a new lowlife she can screw and run along away from here." He said, before pressing play and continuing the game, trying to distract himself.

„Well, she might be upgrading the scale, this time around." Bonnie muttered into her chin, not really sure if he heard what she said, as she turned around and looked down at his mother and her desperate ministrations for getting Damon's attention.

* * *

As expected, the actual barbecue was a disaster. Bonnie was forced to listen and watch three more hours of shameless, no class flirting of Mrs. Donovan and Damon Salvatore. They were making her sick. On the inside she was boiling, while on the outside she tried to keep her cool for as long as she could. And, now as the barbecue was actually at its end, that anger boiling in her, was ready to explode any minute now.

Bonnie was standing over the sink and mindlessly scrubbing the same plate over and over again, while her eyes were directed on the small window in front of her, that showed the backyard. The same backyard, where Damon was still sitting by the bench with Kelly, talking and drinking and laughing. It was sickening.

It didn't take a rocket scientist to call it. She knew the reason why Damon was so on board with Kelly and her classless flirting. He was only doing it to make her angry or jealous. She hated to admit it was actually working.

„I should get going." Matt announced, as he walked inside the kitchen.

She turned around to look at her friend.

„You can stay, Matt. It's not a problem." Abby said.

Her and Ric were both in the kitchen, too, cleaning up all the mess after the gathering.

„Thanks, but, I got to go to work." He looked back at Bonnie, who dusted off her hands on a towel and watched him walk over to her. He smiled, almost bitterly. „I'm gonna go get my mom."

Bonnie nodded her head and watched him walk outside through the patio doors. She watched with uneasiness the scene in front of her. She couldn't exactly hear what they were saying, but she could already guessed it, when she saw Kelly's careless, bored face and Matt's hunched down shoulders.

It reminded her of the time, when he asked her to bake him a cake for his 8th birthday and she said she wasn't going to ruin her new french manicure by cooking and tossing around with flour. So, Bonnie asked her mom to bake the cake for her friend instead. She still remembered that sour smile on the eight-year old Matt, like she was looking at it right now.

She watched him turn and walk back inside of the house, with the same smile he had when he saw the cake Abby made for him. He was thankful for the gesture, but he hated people feeling sorry for him.

„I guess I'm gonna go." He said quickly, once inside.

„Matt, wait." Bonnie tried to stop him.

„I'll see you at school tomorrow, Bon. Mr. and Mrs. Saltzman, thank you for everything and I'm really sorry for any inconvenience." He headed for the exit as soon as possible.

„Matt!" Bonnie yelled after him, but it was pointless.

He was already gone.

And she was fuming with anger.

She turned to look back at the woman that was still sitting there, laughing with no care in the world. Kelly was a real bitch. To act that way with her son, not worrying about his thoughts and feelings, was just awful. Bonnie hated her. She understood why she was with Vicki that way. The truth was Vicki didn't really care about her mother, because she was stoned half of the time. But, Matt was different. How he managed to become this kind and caring person from a family like his, was beyond Bonnie. He was her oldest friend for a reason. She loved him because he was her shoulder in tough moments, her support through anything she doubted and he never believed in the mean words this town had to say about her or her own family. And, don't be fooled. This town had a lot to say about her and her family. Especially, behind their backs.

„Common, let's finish cleaning up." She heard Ric say behind her back and without another thought she was walking outside through the patio doors.

„I'll get the rest of the plates from outside."

The moment she stepped outside, she saw the duo look up to her. Kelly didn't do much as blink and returned her attention to her wooer, but Damon looked a little on edge. Still, he didn't let that get him of track. Even more, as Bonnie made her way towards the table and started picking up the plates, he had the audacity to flirt with the woman like nobody was there. He was grinning, watching Kelly as she played with a cherry in her mouth, trying to seduce him. And he was acting as if it was working.

So, Bonnie picked one plate up and loudly slammed it on the rest of the dishes, which made the pair look up at her. She was silent, but anger was boiling through her ears. Her eyes were set strongly at Damon, her mouth lined up in stiff press, and biting her tongue inside her mouth to stop herself from exploding.

When she picked up the jug of blackberry margarita mix and was about to set it on the rest of the dirty dishes, she heard the redhead woman talking at her.

„Oh, Bonnie, sweety. You should leave that here. I'm not quite finished with it." Kelly said as she down the rest of her drink in her hand.

Bonnie smiled innocently, coming up with an idea on her mind.

„Would you like a refill, Mrs. Donovan?" she asked in a polite voice that made Damon sit straight up in his seat, looking carefully what her attention was. He could already guessed it was no good.

„Yeah, yeah, I would. Thank you, dear." She held the glass up in the air, not looking at Bonnie at all.

„Okay." Bonnie slowly walked over to the pair, her eyes still on Damon, as she raised the jug and started pointing the drink directly to Kelly. His blue eyes were wide opened, as if he was trying to communicate with her somehow. Asking her not to do anything stupid and to just leave already.

As if.

Bonnie diverted the jug away from the glass and let the sweet pink liquid pour down in Kelly's lap.

„OOOH! God! Jesus!" the woman jumped of her seat, looking down on her ruined dress. Her mouth were hanging open, as she tried to brush it off with her hands, but it didn't do much.

„I am so sorry." Bonnie apologized, faking her shock. „I'm so clumsy."

„Watch where you're pouring that, you-" Kelly started her angry answer, but stopped herself, when she looked up at her. She shook her head and faked a smile. „You know what, it doesn't matter. It's fine."

Bonnie looked at Kelly seriously this time.

„You should probably go home and change." She said coldly.

„I said it's fine." Kelly's smile disappeared from her face.

„That will leave a nasty stain if you don't clean it off quickly. So, you should go home. _Now_." Bonnie said with a rude tone in her voice, and she tilted her head, smiling to the woman.

„Why don't you watch your own business, girly and do what you came out here to do?" Kelly started to lose her temper.

„I think it's time for you to leave, right now."

„Bonnie!" She heard Ric behind her. He and Abby got out, when they heard some fuss from the outside. They walked out and he had an apologetic face. „I'm sorry, Kelly, she didn't mean that she's just-"

„Actually, I meant every word." Bonnie cut him off. She took a step closer to the woman, looking at her with evil eyes. „I want you to get the hell out of here before I throw you out!"

Kelly watched the girl in front of her and looking back at Alaric. „Nice daughter you raised here!"

„Well, at least they raised me, which can't be said for what you did with your kids!"

„Oh, Matt's been gossiping me, I see!" Kelly nodded her head, laughing shortly, before got serious. „Do yourself a favor and don't speak about the things you don't know anything about."

„No, it's actually you that don't know!" Bonnie stood her ground. „Do you know where your son just left? He had a night shift at a bar, on a Sunday night! And school in the morning! Why? Because he's gotta pay the bills somehow since his mother took all his savings and his sister's so she could pay herself a vacation in Cuba!"

Kelly grabbed Bonnie's shoulders and the two of them started to struggle. „You little bitch! Come here, so I can tear your face away!"

„Wow, hey!"

Luckily, it was short lived, as Damon reacted right away and pulled Kelly away and Ric did the same with Bonnie.

„Get your dirty stuff and get out!" Bonnie yelled.

Kelly managed to free herself from Damon's hands, straightening her hair and trying to calm herself. She took one step closer and pointed a finger on Bonnie.

„You think you can just throw me out, like that? You ain't the boss in the house, dear!" She spitted her words, before turning to Abby, who was standing behind everybody, watching calmly the whole scene play out. She smiled widely before asking. „Abby, darling, you got some club soda? I need to clean my dress."

Abby looked at the woman, than her daughter, and then Ric, before she set her eyes back on Kelly.

„Actually, we're all out." She said, walking closer and putting her hand on Bonnie's shoulder. „You should get home, Kelly. Before that stain dries out."

It was clear, Abby was standing for her daughter here.

„Okay, then." Kelly answered as brightly as she could. She turned her head towards the man standing behind her. „Damon, can you give me a ride, please?"

Before he said anything, he looked back at his best friend and saw the man was nodding slowly. It was a small pleading gesture, just to ease the situation.

„Yeah. Yeah, sure." He murmured.

„Well, no point in thanking you." Kelly looked back at the family. „I don't have anything nice to say to you any more. Goodbye."

When they left the back yard, Bonnie was the first one to react. She turned around and ran inside the house in no time. Abby and Ric had no time to speak to her. So, instead of his stepdaughter, he directed his question to his wife.

„What the hell was that?"

„That was a bad parent." Abby said, picking up the dishes Bonnie collected.

„Abby, we can't act like that with our neighbors and friends!" Ric said.

„She was never our friend, Ric!" She told him before turning around and going straight to the kitchen. He followed her.

„Bonnie was rude to her! She didn't act rightfully towards her. She had to respect her, regardless how she felt about her. Instead, she insulted her and acted like some crazed up, brash spoiled brat! And you supported her!"

Abby turned to face him. „What did you expect me to do? She's my daughter, of course I'm gonna take her side."

„Not when she's wrong!"

„What do you want from Bonnie?" she contoured him. „She was standing up for her friend. Common, Ric! You and I both know what Kelly Donovan is in reality. And she was disrespecting our home. Flaunting around and throwing herself like that on Damon? No woman with any respect would do it like that! And I really don't get Damon! Why the hell was he letting her?"

„He's a guy! Can you blame him?" Ric shrugged, but Abby shook her head.

„Kelly is not some hot shot woman like that New York models he's use to dating! She's a worn off wannabe milf in a midlife crisis!"

„Milf?" Ric muttered frowning.

„He should know better!" Abby yelled. She took a deep breath before continuing, lowering her voice down. „ I know you're mad for how Bonnie acted, but give her some slack. She's just passionate about the things she loves. And Matt? You know how much she loves him. Like we all do." She walked towards her husband and took his face in her hands, kissing him briefly on the lips.

„Also, talk to your friend, before I do. Tell him I don't tolerate sluts in my house." She said, shaking disapprovingly her head.

„He didn't do anything bad." Ric tried to defend him.

„Let's hope not." She said and Ric chuckled, but straighten himself up when his wife looked at him seriously and continued her talking.

„He seems to be at the crossroads. He needs some guidance and a good advice. Damon's so much more worthy than a Kelly Donovan. You were the one who convinced me that in the first place. So, why don't you remind _him_ of that?"

Ric nodded as Abby kissed him and left the kitchen going straight for bed. He knew what that meant. He was left to deal alone with the dishes. And it was going to be a long night.

* * *

It was a longer drive than Damon anticipated. Truth be told, he didn't like Kelly that much, but she was a great distraction and a great show for Bonnie to back off a bit. But, something about this woman bugged him the wrong way. She seemed just another desperate housewife, that was desperate because she was a housewife and nothing more.

„That your house?" he asked as, he came to stop in front of a yellow one store house.

„Yes. Would you like to come in?" she asked in a seductive tone, looking at him with her big drunken eyes. Seemed like she liked the bottle a little way too much.

„Thanks, but I should head back."

„You don't need to stand their ground, just because you live in their house, Damon." She rolled her eyes, turning her body towards him and grabbing the collar of his shirt to bring him closer. „We could still have some fun."

Her alcoholic breath smacked him in the face, as he took her wrists in his hands and detached them from him, pushing her away.

„That's not the reason."

The woman sighed, sitting back in her car seat, looking out the window.

„Abby and Ric. The perfect couple." She spat. „And their perfect little children. I'll tell you what, they weren't so perfect when they found themselves in a mess, that would scandalize the whole town if anybody found out about it."

This got Damon's attention.

„You know about the problems they had?"

„Problems..." Kelly snorted in a mocking tone. She turned her head to look back at him, before continuing. „Those weren't problems. Those were criminal charges at hand. Only, they had Liz Forbes by their side and she managed to cover everything up before anybody could dig anything about them."

„What?" he asked confused.

But, Kelly ignored him and continued her ranting.

„I can't believe them. How hypocrite it is when they accuse people of indiscretions and judge us for the way we live our lives? As if their daughter is some kind of saint!" she had a skeptic face expression. „Little Miss Perfect! I just wonder if they would act all mighty, prancing around town, if everybody knew their dirty little secrets."

„What are you talking about?" he frowned.

„They're not a perfect family." She continued, looking straight ahead. „If anything they are the worst kind. Especially, that little Bonnie girl. I couldn't stand her every time she would come over to our house, to play with Matt. She was always parading around, acting like she's some sort of blue blooded heir, while we were all under her. But, truth is, she's sick. Sicker than most of them."

„What kind of criminal charges are you talking about?"

Kelly sighed once again in irritation, as she turned to face him.

„There was a complaint filed to the Juvenile Court. An assault against an older juvenile. Now, I don't know the details because it was never meant to be public, but some things you just can't hide."

„What do you mean?"

She turned her body to him once again.

„The complaint was a sexual assault."

Damon's throat constricted. He hated the tone of Kelly's voice.

„Who was the charge against?"

„Who do you think? Bonnie Bennett - Saltzman.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm back?  
> Maybe...I don't know.  
> I guess I found some inspiration to get this chapter out of me. I can't tell you when I will update the next one, but I'm hoping it won't be this long.  
> A lot happened...Do you hate it? I kind of hate it :(...A lot of legal questions in this one, and I have no idea about the law, but I did some research, so I hope I didn't mess up big time.  
> Bonnie's secrets are slowly starting to come out. And I know a lot of you had the kind of idea that she and Ric had something in the past...So...Am I going down that road? Small hint, I think that would be gross... But, the question will sort of pop out in the next chapter, too, as well as the answer. So, stay tuned.  
> Please leave a comment, I'm seriously interested on what you think. Thank you so much for reading and sticking by with me!


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